Susan Granger’s review of “ENSLAVEMENT” (Showtime TV)
Jane Seymour, known as “the Queen of the TV mini-series,” won’t disappoint her fans with her portrayal of Fanny Kemble, a celebrated British actress whose passionate opposition to slavery affected the course of American history. A superstar of the19th century, Fanny Kemble is touring America in the 1840s when she falls in love with and marries Pierce Butler (Keith Carradine), a brash admirer and wealthy lawyer. Retiring from the stage with no regrets, she settles into his home outside Philadelphia. They have two children before the publication of her journals creates more gossip and controversy than her stubborn, strait-laced husband can bear. So, seeking tranquility, they move to Pierce’s Georgia plantation, where Fanny gets a close-up look at the conditions which the slaves endure. “I can’t imagine a life without freedom,” she says. Appalled, she tries to improve their lives, getting to know them as individuals, not property. She sees their souls, not their skins. Her only ally is a sympathetic doctor (James Keach) who warns that she’s treading on dangerous ground. But Fanny’s indignation leads her to teach her slaves to read and arrange for several to escape through the Underground Railroad. A rebel at heart, Fanny isn’t intimidated by anyone – which costs her her marriage, custody of her children and nearly her life. Her memoir, “A Journal of a Residence on a Georgia Plantation,” which details the horrors of slavery, was published in 1963 during the Civil War. It not only became a best-seller but helped persuade the British government to curtail financial aid to the Confederacy, effectively ensuring the South’s defeat. On the Granger Made-for-TV Movie Gauge, “Enslavement: The True Story of Fanny Kemble” is a socially responsible 6, an homage to the resilient human spirit. See it on Showtime TV at 8 P.M. on Easter Sunday, April 23, or on Wednesday, April 26 at 10:15 P.M. Parental warning: slavery is depicted with grim, horrifying reality.
