Antebellum (film)

Did You Know?

• It was rescheduled to August 21, 2020, then pulled from the release schedule again in July 2020.
• The film received a theatrical release in Australia on October 1, 2020.

Plot

On a Louisiana plantation run by Confederate soldiers, enslaved Black people endure brutal treatment and are prohibited from speaking unless addressed. Escape attempts lead to death, with bodies burned in a crematorium. After a failed escape, a man named Eli watches his wife get killed and placed in the crematorium. A woman who helped them is beaten and branded by the general until she accepts the name Eden.

New enslaved people arrive, including a pregnant woman whom the general’s daughter, Elizabeth, names Julia and assigns to Eden’s care. Julia asks Eden to help her escape, but Eden advises her to stay quiet. That evening, while serving soldiers at dinner, a shy Confederate named Daniel takes an interest in Julia and later visits her cabin. When Julia asks for his help, he beats her for speaking out of turn, causing her to miscarry.

After the general rapes Eden in her cabin, she hears a ringing cell phone. In the modern era, the phone wakes Eden, who is actually Dr. Veronica Henley, a renowned sociologist. She prepares for a book tour, struggling to leave her husband Nick and daughter Kennedi. She has an odd online meeting with Elizabeth, who praises Veronica’s book but makes condescending remarks and asks unsettling questions about her daughter.

While in Louisiana for her tour, Veronica meets acquaintances Dawn and Sarah and agrees to dinner. Elizabeth sneaks into Veronica’s hotel room and steals her lipstick. Planning to return home early, Veronica leaves the restaurant in what she thinks is her Uber, but Elizabeth is driving. Elizabeth’s husband, Jasper, knocks Veronica unconscious.

Production

In March 2019, Janelle Monáe was cast in a film written and directed by Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz. Produced by Ray Mansfield and Sean McKittrick under QC Entertainment, with Lionsgate distributing, the project added Eric Lange, Jena Malone, Jack Huston, Kiersey Clemons, Tongayi Chirisa, Gabourey Sidibe, Robert Aramayo, and Lily Cowles to its cast the following month. Marque Richardson joined in May 2019, when principal photography commenced near New Orleans, Louisiana.

Reception

In its first weekend of release, Antebellum became the top-rented title on Amazon Prime Video across both film and television, also leading on FandangoNow and Apple TV for film rentals, while placing third on Google Play. IndieWire calculated that if roughly 500,000 households rented the movie, the studio would earn $8 million. During its second weekend, it remained number one on Amazon Prime Video, FandangoNow, and Spectrum’s film charts, came in second on Google Play, and sixth on Apple TV, staying in the top three on most platforms through its third weekend. By October 2020, The Hollywood Reporter noted it was the sixth most popular premium video-on-demand title during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Critically, the film holds a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 205 reviews, with an average score of 4.8 out of 10. The site’s consensus states the movie “fails to connect its images with any meaning, making for a largely unpleasant experience lacking any substantial scares.” On Metacritic, it scored 43 out of 100 from 40 reviews, indicating mixed or average reception. Variety’s Peter Debruge called it “a mind blowing thriller,” and later included it on his list of the best films of 2020, praising its cinematic quality, storytelling, and social relevance.

Stephanie Zacharek of Time wrote that even without the current political climate, the film “would resonate like the boom of a Union Army cannon.” David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave it a C+, describing it as “an artful and provocative movie about the enduring horror of America’s original sin” that “can’t follow through on its own concept.” Jourdain Searles of The Hollywood Reporter said it was “more interested in making a point than digging deep,” undone by a lack of empathy and emotion.

Angelica Jade Bastién of Vulture strongly criticized the film for exploiting Black suffering and emotional manipulation, arguing it implicitly suggests that depictions of suffering are the best way to understand being Black in America.