Wherever you go, there you are; you take yourself and your personal dilemmas with you no matter where you travel. You can’t outrun them. That’s the complex learning curve Guy Pearce’s determined British preacher, Thomas Munro, must face in director Lee Tamahori’s gripping yet bloated new historical drama, The Convert. The story takes place in 1830 with a shipbound Munro sailing with British traders across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand, where the main dramas unfold. Munro hopes to begin a new life; fate has other plans for him.
This project sat in gestation for many years — 11 years before the cameras rolled — and the pandemic created further delays. The film hit the Toronto International Film Festival and was praised for its stunning cinematography and Pearce’s solid performance as Thomas Munro. Written by Tamahori, Michael Bennett, and Shane Danielsen, the film notably benefits from Tamahori’s keen eye and senses, having turned heads with his 1994 directorial debut Once Were Warriors. He’d go on to helm Die Another Die, The Edge, and xXx: State of the Union, along with great episodes of The Sopranos and Billions.
That said, the filmmaker culls from his diverse portfolio to craft a sweeping epic that is often visually stunning and powerfully emotional, with a hair-raising turn from Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) in the role of Rangimai, whose husband is murdered shortly after Munro et al. come ashore. Their unlikely pairing fuels the drama with Munro as protector in a story that finds him caught between a long-standing battle between two Māori tribes in early 19th-century New Zealand.
Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne are a Dynamic Duo
3.5/5
A lay preacher’s violent past is drawn into question and his faith tested as he becomes caught up in a bloody war between Maori tribes after arriving at a British settlement in the 1830s.
Release Date July 12, 2024
Director Lee Tamahori
Cast Guy Pearce , Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne , Antonio Te Maioha , Jacqueline McKenzie , Lawrence Makoare , Dean O’Gorman , Ariki Turner , Duane Evans
Runtime 1h 59m
Writers Lee Tamahori , Hamish Clayton , Shane Danielsen
Distributor(s) Magnolia Pictures
Pros
- Visually stunning and with excellent production design.
- Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne are excellent even if their characters are underdeveloped.
Cons
- The Convert is too long and loses its focus when it should’ve developed its characters much further.
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The Convert finds momentum early when Munro trades his horse to a brutal tribal chief, Akatarewa (Lawrence Makoare), for Rangimai’s life. She was wounded in the scuffle that found her husband dead. They settle into his home in Epworth, a simple British settlement where everybody knows each other. Charlotte, a nurse and Irish widow, quickly becomes an ally, helping Munro understand the lay of the land, as it were, and helping with translation whenever needed.
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The film has its fish-out-of-water leanings, but it relies more on the racial conflicts of the era to reveal humanity’s existential plight — must we always resort to colonization, violence, and conflict to advance? It’s a rich theme, and it’s enough to water this sweeping tale, but not enough to save it from its other pitfalls, mostly character development. The writers could have taken more time to dive deeper into what made some of these characters tick the way they do, particularly Munro, but Tamahori opts to showcase extraordinary locales — oh, those New Zealand shores — and the early 19th-century look and feel of things.
This then becomes a more stoic tale about how one minister moves through unexpected twists and the extensive racism many Brits had for Indigenous peoples, and what he’ll do to contribute to creating a sea change. Pearce never bores us in his roles, and it’s wonderful to see him slip into this role. Too bad he wasn’t given more to work with to showcase his incredible range. It would have been nice to learn more about this character, particularly what shaped him into the man he became. He was in the British army, for instance, and at one point, relays a story about an attack. Perhaps a flashback would have helped here, but budget constraints no doubt squashed that idea.
A Lavish Tale in Need of More Depth
Guy Pearce may be the draw, but Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne and the Indigenous cast become far more interesting throughout. Perhaps purposely so. How many more movies do we need to experience about a white male, front and center, who enters into a foreign land and saves the day? A more inventive take would have been framing this picture solely around Rangimai — her plight, her experience, her transformation.
Producer Robin Scholes (Once Were Warriors) reportedly optioned the novel Wulf, which is based on the diaries of two young English sailors on a ship used for trading flax for muskets. The story grew from there and, over the years, became this iteration. It is so uniquely steeped in local history and folklore that you cannot deny the unique beauty of the setting and locale. And while the filmmaker wants, essentially, to serve up a universal tale that revolves around sacrifice, service, and reclamation, it tends to linger too long on the specifics without diving deeper beneath the surface.
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The Convert Is a Visually Accurate Marvel
Meanwhile, the look of this film is remarkable. Production designer Nick Williams creates an award-worthy outing, reportedly creating the sets from scratch. Costume designer, Liz McGregor, who launched her career as a hand-stitcher on The Piano, spins wonders, making the town folk all the more believable and the Indigenous tribes a glory to experience. Kudos to Gin Loane, director of photography, whose brilliant sheen makes everything here look sharp, crisp, and real.
Fans of historical dramas will appreciate this period piece, and if Guy Pearce fans will no doubt feel more than comfortable escaping during the film’s nearly 120-minute runtime. Director Lee Tamahori allows us to exist in this world with these characters and, despite some of its creative hiccups, The Convert ultimately becomes a gripping if not thought-provoking endeavor. The Convert opens July 12. You can rent or buy it on digital platforms like Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and through Prime Video in the link below:
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