Gandhi review

 Number 217 on the top 1000 films of all time is Richard Attenborough's epic biopic 'Gandhi.'

This biopic focusses on the life of historical figure Mohandas 'Mahatma' Gandhi - the man who led India to independence from the British Empire. Ben Kingsley plays the man himself from his humble beginnings as a lawyer being thrown off a train in South Africa to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to gaining Indian independence to his eventual assassination.

This was a difficult film for me to review. While I'm no expert on Gandhi, I certainly know his reputation. He is a veritable hero in India - well not to everybody, but we won't get into that now - some will go so far to call him the Father of the Country. There is no denying that Gandhi tackles the important subject matter of what was in effect the beginning of the end of the British Empire. For his expansive and comprehensive perspective, Richard Attenborough won the Best Director and the Best Film Oscars. This is no surprise really. The Academy loves a biopic, especially an epic biopic. 

Through his direction and Ben Kingsley's Oscar winning performance, they helped to demystify the legendary figure of Gandhi. Gandhi kicks off with the titular character being racially discriminated against. Despite having a first-class ticket, he is kicked off a train in South Africa for no other reason than the colour of his skin. This injustice ignites a fire inside of him and he starts non-violent protests for all Indians in South Africa. His protests win many important rights for his compatriots and later he heads home to join other Indian revolutionaries in gaining independence. 

Despite its significant subject matter, the film struggled to hold my attention. And that isn't a fair criticism of the film itself, but it's my own personal preference. I don't care for period dramas. And I certainly don't care for epic period dramas that exceed three hours. They don't grip me and they don't hook me in. There's no denying that Kingsley isn't a talented actor. There is a reason he won the Oscar. But perhaps Attenborough could have been a bit choppier with the pacing. I think it was a little inconsistent. At times, it blistered along, most notably with the Jallianwala Massacre, but at others it was slow especially toward the ending. 

I think everything came a bit bogged down in the denouement. Gandhi is building toward Indian independence. But when India gets its independence, there are further problems with the Partition of India. While this is important to set up, Gandhi's death, I think it could have been shortened and simplified.

So, like I said, I had trouble in reviewing this film. I think I should have liked it more than I did. There's no doubt that it tackles difficult subject matters, I just bloody hate three-hour long period dramas.