To a degree, a film like Amazing Grace is kind of like the game show Jeopardy. You’re given the answer; the trick is figuring out the question. In this case, we all know how the story turns out: the British Parliament put an end to the Empire’s slave trade, and MP (that’s Member of Parliament) William Wilberforce was a key player in the effort. But why? And how did that come about?

Very wisely, veteran director Michael Apted and his screenwriters don’t try to wrest dramatic tension from the outcome of the political struggle. Had that angle been pursued, they’d have had to manufacture some kind of horse-drawn carriage chase sequence or something—which, fortunately, we don’t get here. Instead, Apted derives his narrative tension from five aspects of Wilberforce’s story that the audience probably doesn’t know much about.

First, the film opens with the middle part of Wilberforce’s story, when chronic gastrointestinal illness, medicinal opiate distillates, and political frustration have combined to bring him near to death. Apted milks tension from our desire to know what went wrong, and how Wilberforce will work his way out of it all.

Second, we find out about Wilberforce’s romance with pro-abolition activist Barbara Spooner, played very memorably by Romola Garai. She meets him about the same time we do, so her process of discovering Wilberforce tantalizingly interweaves with our own discovery, of Wilberforce and of Spooner.

Third, the film keeps us guessing, to a degree, what connection Wilberforce has to the titular anthem “Amazing Grace,” written by reformed slave ship captain John Newton. While there’s no doubt that the moral force which Albert Finney brings to the role of Newton anchors this film, Newton’s role in Wilberforce’s story is left something of a mystery right up to the very end.

Fourth, the tension of the film’s politics is largely derived from an exploration of Wilberforce’s on-again, off-again alliance (and friendship) with fellow MP and PM (that’s Prime Minister)-to-be William Pitt (the younger). Veteran TV actor Benedict Cumberbatch, in his first major film role, could here deliver one of those historic, definitive supporting performances remembered years hence—even if he never wins any awards for the portrayal.

Finally, Ioan Gruffud’s William Wilberforce is anything but a one-dimensional idealist or crusader. Early on in the film, he sits under a tree rhapsodizing aloud about the wonders of God’s creation. Interrupted by his well-read manservant, Wilberforce is somewhat embarrassed about being caught lounging about on the dew-soaked grass. When it eventually becomes clear to him that God would be more pleased with him in London than in the fields, he acquiesces; but he begrudgingly observes to his servant, “Do you have any idea how inconvenient that is?”

Wilberforce is here presented as a reluctant campaigner—not because of any doubts about the moral rightness of the cause, nor because of personal doubts about God’s will for him in the matter. Rather, as a man of true moral conscience, he understands the contradiction of trying to impose moral clarity on others when one is not yet personally perfect. “I would change myself first,” he declares. Providence, never blind to human frailty, but quite content to work miracles in spite of it, has other ideas. And for Wilberforce himself, that’s where Grace enters into the equation.

As a history lesson, Amazing Grace is beyond admirable. As a tract on the evils of the 18th-century slave trade, it’s a powerful indictment and makes a fine companion piece to Steven Spielberg’s 19th-century slave-trade tale from the opposite side of the Atlantic, Amistad. As a portrait of Wilberforce, it’s an Oscar-bait complex powerhouse. As an example of ensemble acting that might be more memorable than anything else we’ll see this year, we couldn’t ask for more.

And still, the whole doesn’t quite add up to the sum of its parts. There’s something missing here, something passionate and vibrant that only comes through when Finney is onscreen, or in the stirring moments of the closing credits. I want something flashier here than the film is willing to deliver, I think—a victory less earthy and reserved, one that feels more like the end of Star Wars. Instead, Amazing Grace rolls up its sleeves and invites us to pull up a seat under the trees with Wilberforce. Maybe that’s a good thing.

My reservations aside, Apted has done himself proud. Amazing Grace delivers nearly everything this tale should and could have been, even if it’s not the best thing I’ve seen this month.

Amazing Grace is rated PG “for thematic material involving slavery, and some mild language.” It’s funny that the film feels more adult than PG, though there’s certainly nothing in its content to warrant a higher rating. To a degree, that’s a credit to the film’s producers, who could have easily demanded scenes that would avoid the kiss-of-death PG rating for a film that is clearly aimed an adult audience. You can try taking your kids; but most will be squirming in their seats within fifteen minutes. Spare yourself the distraction and hire a babysitter.

Courtesy of a local publicist, Greg attended a promotional screening of Amazing Grace.