England managed to abolish slavery 30 years before the United States and avoid a bloody civil war in the process. Still, the journey was a thorny political road spanning decades and consuming the lives of those involved. The result was a watershed moment in European history whose effects were felt as far away as Gettysburg.

But as entertainment it seems like chancy stuff, particularly for a Hollywood film, this mix of costume drama and political procedural. If we're going to wander back across the decades to nose into the lives of people who wear knee pants as a fashion statement it helps to have a torrid love affair or armies trampling down cornfields to keep our interest piqued.

"Amazing Grace," director Michael Apted's latest movie, pulls it all together - the history lesson, the entertainment, and even the cultural voyeurism - with eloquence worthy of its title.

"Amazing Grace" follows the struggles of William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd), the British politician who spearheaded the abolition effort. We join Wilberforce as a rising star in British politics. He has a biting wit that makes him a formidable adversary in the brawling sessions of Parliament.

Wilberforce takes on abolitionism in a fit of youthful idealism, but it is a much bigger task than he's bargained for. In the end it defines his life and grinds it down, transmuting a passionate cause into a test of character.

The heart of the story is Wilberforce's attempt to unravel the evil of slavery from the British social fabric when it plays such a large role in the economic aspirations and anxieties of the empire. Therein lies a good part of the charm of "Amazing Grace" - its wonkishness. It doesn't shy away from the political complexities of an issue that from a distance is so black and white. In the process we're treated to an inspired meeting of Jane Austin and "The West Wing".

As in the worlds of Austin and President Bartlett dialogue is the engine of drama for "Amazing Grace." This is a movie of wit and conversation and it had the good fortune of assembling a cast that was up to the task. While American actors seem more interested in the white space that surrounds conversation, pumping up a terse vocabulary with a pregnant pause or squinty state (imagine, for a moment, John Wayne doing Shakespeare), the British throw themselves into their words, grabbing an adjective and heading off down the road.

"Amazing Grace" invites you to sit back and listen to some of the best talent from that side of the Atlantic starting with Michael Gambon (has there ever been a movie that Gambon hasn't improved?) and not stopping until we've run into the likes of Albert Finney and Ciaran Hinds.

Gruffudd himself is no slouch. His Wilberforce is a combination of wit and befuddlement, sharp on the attack and at the same time perplexed by his world and his own attempts to change it. He embodies just enough of the everyman to center the rich caricatures that surround him.

The film has some fun in re-creating the world of late eighteenth century England. Like the 2005 remake of "Pride and Prejudice," it presents a somewhat "down market" view of English society. It peaks beneath the veneer of ostentatious elegance to show chickens running through the kitchens and the wealthy trying to keep their shoes out of the mud. It paints a vivid, cluttered picture of poverty crowding against privilege and shows us a world were the concept of slavery might not seems so alien.

Directed by Michael Apted

Rated:

(Three stars)

Bruce Bulloch may be reached via wseditor@robinsonnews.com