Who would have thought that marrying the person you loved would have caused such an international scandal?
Well, when one of those people is a King of a south African county and the other is a typical white British woman, it can cause quite a problem. Sereste Khama (David Oyelowo) is studying law in London who meets Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) randomly at an event for missionary work. They hit it off and quickly fall in love, though those around them aren't as happy as they are. They are beaten up in the streets and after they become engaged, Ruth's father (Nicholas Lyndhurst) kicks her out of the house.
And once they arrive in Africa, things get worse. There is apartheid but worse, Sereste's own uncle (Vusi Kunene) isn't supportive of the match and wants him to renounce the throne. But he doesn't, and the people of Bechuanaland support him. The British are certainly against him and the country isn't in great shape, with disease, drought and famine. And there is drilling, unbeknownst to the native government.
The British government is also brutal to the couple, inviting them back to officially appoint Sereste as the leader but it is all a lie. He is banished from his own country while Ruth stayed behind to get used to it. Even Sereste's sister, Naledi (Terry Pheto) warms up to Ruth. She has their first child alone, separated from her husband, and then when Winston Churchill is elected, they believed that he would allow Sereste to be sent home, but it is worse, he is banished for life. He does have some good supporters, thank goodness and soon learns that the mineral drilling has yielded diamonds and he has finally obtained the real, previously confidential report which did say that he would be a good leader but South Africa, a country which is vital to Great Britain's economy, would be livid so he was lied to and punished for no good reason.
So they return to tie up loose ends and here, Sereste blackmails the British government representative of South Africa (Jack Davenport) with published the real report. And Sereste abandons his throne so his country can have independence and democracy with free elections instead. Love wins. At least in this film.
While I don't have many problems with the film, there are some nevertheless. The couple's courtship is too short and though Oyelowo and Pike are great in difficult roles, they are at least ten years too old for the parts. It is also incredibly disturbing at how manipulative and cruel the government was to the couple, there was a whole conspiracy against them. Something like that shouldn't have happened. There were certainly some inspirational messages and great scenes. There truly were few things to dislike. I just have to hope that love can still conquer all, because this world certainly needs more love these days. Grade: B+
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