Based on a true story, A United Kingdom is intelligent, tender and full of power and emotion.
Set in the 1950s, the movie stars Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) as Ruth Williams a young middle class English girl and David Oyelowo (Selma) as Seretse Khama, the heir to the throne of Botswana.
Race, politics and prejudice threaten to keep them apart but despite the odds the couple go against the wishes of their respective families and get married.
Their union has far reaching consequences for the British Empire as Botswana, one of its dominions, is on the brink of civil war.
Seretse’s people grudgingly accept his English wife while his uncle King Tshekedi Khama, played by Vusi Kunene, leads raging debates in Parliament about the future of Botswana.
Winston Churchill later exiles Seretse from his own country, forcing him to stay in England while his wife remained in Botswana, but despite the tyranny of distance their love endured.
Directed by Amma Asante, who made a name for herself with her critically acclaimed movie Belle, A United Kingdom’s power lies in its simplicity.
It is ultimately a love story, which leaves audiences cheering for the lead characters right from the start.
At the film’s conclusion the entire cinema erupted into loud applause with many praising the film’s merits.
A United Kingdom also stars Tom Felton, Jack Davenport and Downton Abbey’s Laura Carmichael.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Rated: PG 13
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
In cinemas now
