74 newyork| september14–27, 2020
theoriginalsinofAmerica,”and“illumi-
natesomeofthosetruthsandconfront
themhead-on,sothatwecanreallymove
towardanactualhealing.” It is a remark-
ablestatement,especiallygivenwhat a
genuinedisasterAntebellumis,soclumsy
abouttheracialhistoryit insistsit wants
toclarifyandsoineptinthebasicmechan-
icsofbeinga thrillerthatitvergeson
laughable.Toframea moviethisway,
beforea singlesecondofit hasplayed,is
suchanactofunpromptedhubrisit’s
almostendearing—andtimely, though
notinthewayitsfilmmakerswanted.In
thegapbetweenthereality ofAntebellum
anditscreators’ambitions,there’s a sense
thatrelevancehasbecomea branding
exerciseasmuchassomethingthat’s
earnedwiththeactualstuffofa film.
It’sthesamefeelingthat ariseswhen
watchingJonStewart’s Irresistible,a
politicalsatireabouta mayoralraceina
smalltown in Wisconsin—“thegreat
now-swingstate,”SteveCarelltrumpets
inthetrailer—thatbecomesthefocusof
nationalattentionaftera formerMarine
goesviralforspeakinguponbehalfof
immigrantsinhiscommunity. Themost
tellingsceneplaysovertheendcredits,
whenStewart speakswithformerU.S.
FederalElectionCommissionchairman
TrevorPotter.Callingitaninterviewis
toogenerous—Potteristheretoconfirm
thattheplot’s pivotalcampaign-finance
scamispossible,buthe’s notdelivering
thesoundbitesStewart wants,soStewart
deliversthemhimselfoff-camera, leaving
Pottertonodalongandthenaffirmwhat
he’s saying.It’snotunlike thepreface
BushandRenzgiveto Antebellum—
supplementalmaterialmeanttoinsist the
accompanyingfilmhasa pointit doesn’t
managetomake duringitsruntime.
That’smorethancanbesaidforThe
Hunt,a moviethat generatedreamsofthe movieAntebellumopens
withanintricatetrackingshot
thatwindsthrougha southern
slaveplantation.It’slateafternoon,and
thelightslantingthroughthetreesisas
goldenasthedresswornbya younggirl
pickingflowersbythewhite-pillaredmain
house.It ’s anaggressivelybucolictableau
meanttorecallGoneWiththeWind,com-
plete withenslavedpeoplebustlingaround
thegroundsalongsideConfederatesol-
diers.Thenthecamera findsitsway intoa
clearing,whereanescapeat temptis being
viciouslythwarted.Awoman’s desperate
sprinttowardthetreelineis presentedin
extravagantslowmotion,capturingevery
panickedcontortionofherfaceasshe’s
draggedtothegroundandmurdered.The
violenceis filmedwiththesameuncanny
lushnessaseverythingthat hascomebe-
fore,seeminglyto emphasizethehorrorthat
hasalwaysbeenat theheart ofplantation
nostalgia.Theeffectendsupbeingthe
opposite—anindulgenceinthebrutality of
themoment,whichthefilmhasarrangedto
unfoldduringtheaestheticallypleasing
glowofmagichour.
Formembersofthemedia,Antebellum
beginswitha messagefromfilmmakers
GerardBushandChristopherRenz,prim-
ingtheaudienceforwhatitisaboutto
watch.Introductionstoearlyscreeningsare
notunheardof—workonsomethingina
relativevacuumformonths,andthevulner-
ability offinallyputtingit infrontofstrang-
erscanpromptoneto allsortsof last-minute
ef fortstoreelinviewers.Antebellum,star-
ringJanelleMonáe,hadbeenbuildingbuzz
sincelate 2019 withmysterioustrailersthat
touteditsconnectiontoGetOut,withwhich
it sharesa pairofproducers.Thefilmhad
beenslatedfortheatersbeforethepandemic
pushedittoVOD, butBushandRenz
wantedtotalkaboutmorethanjustthe
scupperedbig-screenreleaseoftheirdirec-
torialdebut.Inthevideo,they bluntlypro-
claimtheirambitionsinmakingAntebel-
lum,whichwerenolessthantoconstruct
“themovieofandforthismoment.”
Fewdirectorsrushtopositiontheir
workasdidactic,butBushandRenz,who
comefroma backgroundofadvertising
andPSAs, describeAntebellumas“medi-
cine”tuckedawayinentertainment.It
would,theyhoped,start“anationaldia-
loguearoundthiscountry’s LostCause,antebellum
A woman tries to
escape a slave
plantation in the
present day.irresistible
Jon Stewart’s
political satire
about a mayoral
race in a right-
wing town.Desperateto Be RelevantAntebellumis cinema’s latest
failedat tempttospeakto“themoment.”
ByAlisonWillmoreantebellumisoutSeptember18.