Trailer
Plot summary
William Wilberforce is a young and popular Member of Parliament who experiences a religious awakening and joins the evangelical wing of the church. He thinks of leaving politics to study theology, but his friends William Pitt, Thomas Clarkson, Hannah More and Olaudah Equiano persuade him that he can serve God more effectively by fighting to end the British slave trade, a cause that will make him unpopular. His former mentor John Newton, once a captain of slave ships and now a repentant clergyman, urges him to see it through. When Pitt becomes Prime Minister, Wilberforce gains a confidant in power and the chance to bring the question of the trade before the House of Commons, where MPs and peers with a stake in the trade stand against him.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Amazing Grace (2006)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The title refers to the 1772 hymn "Amazing Grace": the film recounts how John Newton's years as a captain of slave ships and his later Christian conversion inspired the poem used in the hymn, and portrays him as a major influence on Wilberforce.
- The film opened in wide US release on 23 February 2007, a date that coincided with the 200th anniversary of the vote by the British parliament to ban the slave trade.
