First Trailer for Apple's Feature Drama 'Emancipation' Begins the Will Smith Comeback Tour for Awards Season

 

by Darian Scalamoni

    Last year at the Academy Awards, Will Smith's actions loomed over the show like a virus that overtook the crowd. An ill-timed joke by comedian and fellow actor Chris Rock made Smith jump to action and have a physical outburst that continues to lurk over his career today. However, since the incident that was one of Twitter's most talked about moments, maybe ever, Smith is set to make his return to the big screen with AppleTV+'s slave drama, Emancipation. The film released its official first trailer today. The film looks harrowing, hard to watch but also, crucial viewing.

   

    Emancipation is based on true historical events documenting the story of a man who was photographed in the 1800s with horrific and graphic scarring on his back due to the beatings he received as a slave. Smith plays Peter, who is almost whipped to death during his time in slavery at a Louisiana plantation before plotting his escape and heading North to be a soldier in the Union Army. The original photo for which the film was developed about, was released in 1863 and gave abolitionists proof of the brutality that overseers put on American slaves through whippings and other cruel treatment. The trailer shows glimpses of the savagery that was unleashed on the innocent throughout slavery, similar to that of another slavery-based drama film, 12 Years a Slave, which won 3 Academy Awards including Best Picture at the 86th annual ceremony. 

    Regardless of what you think about Smith's actions at the Oscars last year, his performance in this film looks absolutely fantastic. I was also a massive fan of what he did in King Richard, which followed Richard Williams, the father of world-famous tennis players, Venus and Serena Williams and his influences throughout their adolescence. Emancipation gives Smith another role in which he's flexing his dramatic muscles that we haven't seen as much in recent years as he had gone more the box-office route with films such as Suicide Squad, Gemini Man and Bad Boys for Life.

    Emancipation stars Smith, Ben Foster, Timothy Hutton, Mustafa Shakir and Charmaine Bingwa. Training Day and The Magnificent Seven director, Antoine Fuqua directs the film for Apple. Emancipation hits theaters on December 2nd for a limited release before streaming on AppleTV+ on December 9th.