Top 20 Movies Based on True Stories
10. Amazing Grace
Wilberforce was elected to the House of Commons when he was only 21 and chose to use his two decades of political influence to fight for what he believed was right.
His character is played by Ioan Gruffudd in this film.
The movie begins with Wilberforce on a rest in Bath, Somerset because he is very ill. Here he meets Barbara Spooner (who later becomes his wife) and she asks Wilberforce about his past history in Parliament. He spends 15 years fighting against slavery, but doesn’t feel as though he has made an impact. Physically ill from the stress, he is on vacation to rejuvenate and restore his spirit.
It is here in Bath that he is able to tell his story to Barbara. She convinces him that the work is important and he returns to Parliament with renewed energy. After 20 years of pushing for anti-slavery legislation, Wilberforce is successful at getting a bill passed by Parliament in 1807 that ends slavery in the British Empire forever.
This is an important film that deals with slavery and shows how resistant to change the entire country was. Because of Wilberforce, the slave trade ended and his success is commemorated in this film.
