IDRIS ELBA’S ‘MANDELA’ GETS STANDING OVATION IN TORONTO

Actor Idris Elba and actress Naomie Harris of ‘Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’ pose at the Guess Portrait Studio during 2013 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2013 in Toronto

*The premiere screening for “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom” at the Toronto International Film Festival earned a nice standing ovation at the end of the two-and-a-half hour biopic starring Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela. (Scroll down to watch the press conference.)

Boasting another two performances to add to the list of Oscar-contending portrayals this year – Idris Elba as Mandela and Naomie Harris as his wife Winnie – this beautifully shot and realized epic takes us into the world of Mandela from 1942 at the beginning of his activism all the way to his election as president after being released from his Robben Island prison cell after 27 years.

According to Deadline.com, “it is those prison scenes where the film really comes alive and Elba gets a chance to shine. That he does, in a towering portrayal of the man who stays in the headlines lately because of his frail health (he just went home from the hospital this week).

Deadline continues:

Count both Elba and Harris, for her complex Winnie, as good shots for nominations along with many of the technical aspects of the stunning looking film. Whether it has a chance as Best Picture is another matter. This is easily the kind of lusciously made epic to which Oscar voters drifted to in past decades – think Gandhi – but that seems to be changing.

Nevertheless if craft gets you in, Mandela with its great set pieces could make the race. It’s also intelligently written. Directed by English helmer Justin Chadwick, this film does not open old wounds but seeks to heal them. It’s fairly straightforward in its approach to telling Mandela’s story but, in his opening remarks, TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey said it is so much more.

L-R) Director Justin Chadwick, actress Lindiwe Matshikiza, actor Riaad Moosa, actor Idris Elba and actress Naomie Harris speak onstage at “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom” Press Conference during the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival at TIFF Bell Lightbox on September 8, 2013 in Toronto


“It’s tempting to call the story of Nelson Mandela larger than life, but it is life. It’s the story of a man given a life sentence, it’s the story of a life of struggle, it’s the story of a life lived in the service of a principle,” he said before introducing veteran producer Anant Singh, who has labored 16 years to bring this to the screen.

“It really is a very proud moment to bring to fruition the work of trying to get Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom to the big screen. I started my communications with Mr. Mandela while he was still in prison, so that’s almost 25 years ago,” he said explaining how he eventually won the movie rights to Mandela’s autobiography.

The producer said Toronto is the perfect place to launch the film since he was in the city once before with Mandela when he spoke here. Elba was actually working in Toronto on Pacific Rim when he made the decision to do the film.

Director Chadwick made a point of thanking Harvey Weinstein and his team in making it all possible. “They have been passionate, committed and supportive of the film. And to see that energy and have a genuine love for the film is really extraordinary,” he said.

Hollywood doesn’t really make many films anymore of the scale and scope of this one so it will be interesting to see how it is embraced. In any event, it is filmmaking of the highest order and there should also be a special shout out to its musical score by Alex Heffes which really adds to the flavor.

Opening in December during the Christmas holidays it will be interesting to see its commercial fate. Clint Eastwood‘s Mandela picture “Invictus” didn’t even crack $40M domestically and won Oscar nods only for its two main actors Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. A new film, “Winnie Mandela,” with Jennifer Hudson in the title role and Terrence Howard as Nelson, opened in the U.S. this weekend to little fanfare. It has been largely on the shelf for two years and played Canada for a week last fall before falling quickly off screens.

Whether “Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom” can stir more interest is a question The Weinstein Company is anxiously waiting to have answered. But it is certainly a movie worth seeing and talking about.