Prior to seeing this film I knew little about Nelson Mandela past the major facts that he spent twenty-seven years in prison only to become the President of South Africa. He was a revolutionary, a philanthropist and a beacon of hope to people that, in my distant learnings, would never be associated with the word politician. Turns out there was much more to his story than I could have imagined as this wasn't simply a man who went through the ups and downs of immaturity to be re-born in prison and make a difference once he was set free, but this was a man dedicated from birth to leaving an impression, to doing something that would make the ones he loved, proud. This was not a leader bent on gaining power for personal gain or to feed his ego, but a man determined to make a difference in the lives of his people and to allow his family and friends to walk free in their own land. Naturally, there has no doubt been some type of flattery given to the man as this is playing up the acts he initiated and was willing to die for, but none of it comes off as such in the film and despite the fact I would need to do immeasurable research to fact check every event the film chronicles never do the actions our titular subject takes part in feel lacking in genuine reason or motivation. They are simply part of what makes this man who he was and while much of that is conveyed successfully through the obstacles encountered and overcome by Mandela there is also no lack of that raw human element that the character would feel forced and inaccurate without. Idris Elba, in a career defining performance, delivers on every level a man who is, despite his consistent talks of peace, not afraid to walk the walk and that is what makes him so appealing to his people, so trustworthy to his peers and so impressionable to those with power.
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a solid two hours and twenty minutes of biography that is unable to follow the typical story structure of these films due simply to the unique consequences of Mandela's story, but despite a few hang ups here and there in only skimming over certain details and opening subplots without any further exploration or eventual resolution this is still every bit the engaging experience you might expect it to be and a film that implies a sweeping and powerful scope such a life should be represented by.
