Repeating history

'A United Kingdom' is a beautiful, well-acted film about love and race

As much as good science fiction works as allegory for the here and now, it seems historical movies about race are becoming cautionary tales of the present. Director Amma Asante’s “A United Kingdom” is compelling evidence for the latter.

We meet Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) as an African law student in London just after the end of World War II. Next in line for the chieftainship of the British Protectorate of Bechuanaland, his uncle, Tshekedi (Vusi Kunene), has been acting as steward of their tribe until Seretse’s return and presumed marriage to a nice Bechuanalandian girl.

Instead he falls for Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), a well-off clerk at Lloyd’s of London, whose father fought in India and isn’t cool with the idea of his eldest daughter dating any kind of brown guy. But when they decide to elope, her father turns out to be the least of their worries.

Aside from the “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” thing, the newly betrothed are beset on two fronts. The British government, in its fading colonial glory, has a vested interest in keeping the ruler of South Africa happy during the institution of apartheid, lest he annex Bechuanaland entirely. Also, there might be a bunch of diamonds entombed in the arid earth, rife for exploitation by foreign interests.

At home, Seretse’s tribe is hostile to the idea of a white woman bearing royal offspring. This hostility is magnified by the contrasting motivations of Seretse and his uncle, who goes over his head to Alistair Canning (Jack Davenport) and succeeds in banishing Seretse from his kingdom, despite the people warming to the idea of a white queen.

Based on actual events, “A United Kingdom” is not completely what you’d expect from a historical love story about race, instead playing out on a larger scale that lays bare racism’s institutional nature in culture and politics—even during the relative Enlightenment of British civilization, when the tide of colonization receded. Or in the traditions of a Third World monarchy.

Asante, directing a script from Guy Hibbert (adapting from Susan Williams’ book, “Colour Bar”), strikes a pleasing narrative balance between the political complexity and the warmth of the romance at its heart. Asante isn’t breaking any new cinematic ground, but it’s a great story well told. The look of the film is steeped in a grainy, period formalism, courtesy of cinematographer Sam McCurdy (“Game of Thrones”).                             

“A United Kingdom” rests on its performances. Oyelowo and Pike are typically commanding. Davenport plays Canning as about as much of a (fictional) douche as he was in “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Tom Felton (yes, Draco), as Davenport’s slimy sidekick, is appropriately dickish.

It’s odd that “A United Kingdom” is hitting so early in the year, considering its prestige—almost no one will remember it come Oscar time. It’s an important film, subtle and elegant, and it brings into focus the relevance of the sins of our collective past and how we allow them to repeat.