Successful author Veronica Henley finds herself trapped in a horrifying reality and must uncover the mind-bending mystery before it’s too late.
Going into “Antebellum,” I was expecting another time-traveling thriller in the vein of Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet,” at least that’s what the trailer implies but the truth is far more disturbing. The film opens in the Southern United States sometime during the late 18th century when slavery was legal and black people were treated worse than animals. Eden (Janelle Monáe) works on a Reformer Plantation, commandeered by the Confederate Army, and the slaves there look up to her as their leader. After having tried to escape once already, she is captured and brought back to the plantation and branded as a result of her desertion. Living day to day is pure hell, with the evil and sadistic Captain Jasper (Jack Huston) constantly observing the slaves and waiting for one of them to look at him sideways so he can torture them with his barbaric discipline. Equally as ruthless is his overbearing wife Elizabeth (Jena Malone), who sashays around the property in her best Sunday attire, looking down on the slaves with not so much as a morsel of pity.
As the plantation welcomes a new group of slaves into its fold, Eden is more determined to escape along with Eli (Tongayi Chirisa), a male slave who cares for her. The General (Eric Lange) in charge of the plantation, brings Eden to his cabin every night, and after having sex with her one evening, Eden wakes up in her own home, along with her husband Nick (Marque Richardson), and young daughter Kennedi (London Boyce), in modern-day Louisiana. She is a successful and distinguished author who goes by the name of Veronica Henley and she brushes off what we just witnessed as a bad dream. After a night out with her two best friends Dawn (Gabourey Sidibe) and Sarah (Lily Cowles), she calls for an Uber driver to come and pick her up but on the way back to her hotel, she is attacked inside the SUV and knocked unconscious. Later on, she wakes up back on the plantation and realizes that it wasn’t a dream after all but that she is stranded on a real plantation being run by modern-day white supremacists. With her husband and daughter to fight for, she decides to take back control of her life, even if it means burning everything to the ground.
The premise for “Antebellum” is intriguing but upon reflection, it leaves some pretty large plot holes in its wake. We are led to believe that the plantation was nothing more than a dream. Even after we clearly see Eden being branded for trying to escape, when she wakes up in our world, there is not so much as a scratch on her back. Also, if she has a life and family in the modern world, then she was obviously kidnapped before and managed to escape but there is no mention of this anywhere, and maybe that’s the filmmakers’ point, she may have already gone through the recovery process of having being kidnapped in the past but it is never touched upon or explained. In the end, it is determined that the plantation sits at the center of a large property that utilizes an American Civil War reenactment camp as a facade. The white supremacists who own the property, kidnap real black people, and reign over them, using deadly force whenever they step out of line or question anything. They live in the plantation era, with everything from clothes, food, and lodging matching the time period accurately and they are gradually stripped away of their individualism, resulting in them believing that this way of life has always been their way of life.
The people who run the plantation are never allowed to bring electronics with them; phones, tablets, etc., so as not to give away the deception but one night, Eden overhears the General on a cell phone and realizes that she must act quickly if she is to try and escape. Watching her exact revenge on the General, Captain Jasper, and Elizabeth, is a thing of beauty, throughout the whole film they have maimed, raped, and killed so many slaves that when she gets her chance to turn the tables on them, it is highly rewarding. Unquestionably, “Antebellum” comes along at a time when racial tensions in America are at an all-time high, and there’s no doubt parts of the movie will be compared to what’s going on today but it is a testament to directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz for their flawless eye for detail, and their meticulous recreation of an era in American history that is still remembered with malevolence and repugnance, and most certainly not America’s finest hour. When all is said and done, “Antebellum” is a work of fiction, set during a real timeframe that many Americans would like to forget ever happened but directors Bush and Renz invite you into this cruel and shameful time period and give you a taste of what it was like to live back then as a slave, as a black person.
Available on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital),
Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, Digital, and On-Demand November 3rd
