Going to New York in a trade, Newton, an intelligent slave trader, who goes in a journey from Africa to New York, giving a lesson to all humanity, as Samuel Woodward, a young slave that goes in a journey with his family.
"Freedom" takes a compelling chapter in American history - the flight of slaves from Southern bondage to Canada via the Underground Railroad - and flattens its drama.
Noble in intention, this story of slavery and the origin of John Newton's hymn Amazing Grace opens with style but then steadily sinks into messy theatricality, overwhelmed by its own earnestness.
Peter Cousens' mawkish Freedom is an apologia for the white Christian people who helped slaves escape, or at least wrote songs to make them feel better.
Though Gooding tries hard to look sincere and troubled, often he appears slightly embarrassed. It's no surprise. Too bad so much talent is wasted here.
The film tries to have the scope of "12 Years a Slave." But it's ruined by the sanctimonious songs that turn the drama into a half-baked musical. Much worse: the filmmakers' need to show that not all whites employed in the slave trade were evil.
