A United Kingdom is a historical and biographical drama which premiered in 2016.
It is based on a true story about a black man from Africa and a white woman from England:
** Seretse Khama (1921-1980)
** Ruth Williams (1923-2002)
Here is some basic information about this drama:
** Directed by Amma Asante
** Screenplay written by Guy Hibbert
** Based on a book by Susan Williams
** Released on DVD in 2017
** Run time: 111 minutes
The cast includes the following:
** David Oyelowo as Seretse Khama
** Rosamund Pike as Ruth Williams
** Laura Carmichael as Muriel Williams (1921-2015) – Ruth’s sister
** Terry Pheto as Naledi Khama (1925-2016) – Seretse’s sister
** Vusi Kunene as Tshekedi Khama (1905-1959) – Seretse’s uncle
** Tom Felton as Rufus Lancaster – a UK official (a fictional character)
** Jack Davenport as Sir Alistair Canning – a UK official (a fictional character)
** Jessica Oyelowo as Lady Lily Canning – Alistair’s wife (a fictional character)
** Nicholas Lyndhurst as George Williams – Ruth’s father
** Jack Lowden as Tony Benn (1925-2014) – a Labour politician
** Theo Landy as Michael Nash – a reporter
** Anton Lesser as Clement Attlee (1883-1967) – British prime minister 1945-1951
Susan Williams is a senior research fellow at the Institute for Commonwealth Studies, University of London. In spite of her last name, she is not related to Ruth Williams.
This drama is based on her book The Colour Bar which was published in 2006. It was re-issued in 2016 as a tie-in with the drama.
Since this drama is based on a true story, the basic facts are part of the public record. They are not a secret. Therefore, I feel free to mention some of them here.
While the movie is based on a true story, it is not a documentary film. It is a dramatized version of events. Some details may have been added, altered or excluded for dramatic reasons or for practical purposes.
Not everything happened exactly as shown in the drama. But the basic story is true.
This drama is not a complete biography of Seretse and Ruth. It covers only a short part of their lives. The story begins in 1947 when they meet in England and ends in 1956 when they are both allowed to return to Africa.
As you can see, the time frame is quite short, less than a decade, but it is fair to choose this decade, because it is a crucial time in their lives.
Seretse and Ruth meet in London in 1947. They like each other and they get married in 1948. However, both of them face problems because of this relationship.
Seretse faces opposition from his family and from some people in his home country, Bechuanaland, today known as Botswana. Ruth faces opposition from her family in England and they both face opposition from the British government.
Seretse is an important person in Bechuanaland: he is line to become the next king of the country.
But the neighbouring country South Africa cannot accept that the leader of Bechuanaland (a black man) is married to a white woman. Apartheid is the official policy of South Africa from 1948.
South Africa is very important to the United Kingdom. It has gold and uranium. The British government wants to please South Africa. Therefore, it does everything it can to stop this marriage. If they cannot stop the marriage, they will at least try to stop Seretse and Ruth from living in Africa.
Faced with this kind of opposition and this kind of pressure, most people would have given up. But Seretse and Ruth are not most people. They refuse to give up. They love each other, they get married, and they refuse to accept that any government (neither Britain nor South Africa) can tell them what to do or where to live.
The story of Seretse and Ruth has been described as “the greatest love story that ever happened,” and this description seems to be fully justified.
In this drama, we follow the lives of Seretse and Ruth as they face the pressure from their respective families and as they face the power of the British government. In the end, their families accept them; in the end, even the British government has to accept them.
What do reviewers say about this drama?
Here are the results of three review aggregators:
65 percent = Meta
69 percent = IMDb
76 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)
84 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)
On Amazon, there are at the moment more than 1,300 ratings of this product, more than 400 with reviews. The average rating is 4.6 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent. If you ask me, this rating is quite appropriate.
A United Kingdom is a captivating, dramatic and highly emotional drama. In addition, it is based on a true story.
Having said this, I must add that not everything in this drama is true. Historical accuracy is violated on several occasions. Here are some examples:
# 1. In a scene set in 1947, a radio broadcast about India claims the Indians are “subjects of the queen.” This is not true. In 1947 the UK had a king, George VI, who was king from 1936 until his death in 1952.
Why did the people behind this drama make such a silly mistake?
# 2. In the beginning of the story (in 1947) Seretse tells Ruth that Queen Victoria made Bechuanaland a British protectorate in order to protect its people from “racist South Africa.”
The protectorate was established in 1885, while the state of South Africa was not established until 1910. Therefore, this argument does not make any sense.
# 3. A representative of the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee claims the marriage of Seretse and Ruth is opposed by the presidents of four countries: South Africa, South West Africa, and the two Rhodesias.
While Attlee was prime minister (1945-1951) none of these four countries had a president.
Why did the people behind the drama not check the facts?
# 4. A secret government report - “the Harragin Report” - is mentioned several times in the movie. This report, which plays an important role, is named after Sir Walter Harragin.
In the drama, Seretse has a copy of this report in his possession, but this cannot be true, because it was classified for 30 years.
Why did the people behind the drama change the facts?
As you can see, not everything is this drama is correct. There are some flaws. I have mentioned them here, because they deserve to be mentioned, for the record, but I have decided to regard them as minor, and they will not disturb my overall rating of the product.
If you are interested in the history of the modern world – in particular the question of racism and human rights – this drama is definitely something for you.
It is highly recommended.
PS # 1. For more information about the topic, see the following book:
A Marriage of Inconvenience
by Michael Dutfield
(1990)
PS # 2. The following article is available online:
Jessamy Calkin, “A United Kingdom: the true story of Botswana’s first president and the English woman he loved,” The Telegraph, 4 November 2016
PS # 3. For an interesting comparison of fact and fiction in this drama, visit this website:
PS # 4. Amma
Asante is the director of several movies, including the historical dramas Belle (2013) and Where Hands Touch (2018).
*****
A United Kingdom
(2016)
*****
The True Story of a Love
That Inspired the World
*****
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