Trilogy Week #17 - Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman is another one of my favorite black actors. No one can deny the power of his voice. He conveys power, wisdom, and warmth in his words. As also a great character actor, he can disappear in his roles, and you believe that he is that character. These three movies show how he can change from different roles, with great subtly in his acting that he can portray such a wide range of completely different roles. He is like that grandfather we all wish we had.

Title: Driving Miss Daisy

Year: 1989

Director: Bruce Beresford

Cast: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd

Rated: PG

My Review: I would call this a cute film. Not much to it, but the acting is really good. It's no surprise that both Morgan Freeman, and Jessica Tandy were both nominated for best actor, and actress. This was the first Morgan Freeman movie that I ever saw. And even at the age of 10 I knew that I had to keep my eye on Morgan Freeman, that he was going to surprise me with every new role that he was going to play. It's fun to watch, as these two great actors bounce off one another. It's a great lesson in film study. The only thing that I didn't like about this film is, that the film spans the length of 25 years, from 1948 to 1973. And for me the time moves to fast, it's hard to determine which era you're in. I don't knew why they didn't put the year at the bottom of the screen. Other than that, it is a nice little movie about friendship. 7 out of 10

Title: The Power of One

Year: 1992

Director: John G. Avildsen

Cast: Stephen Dorff, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Morgan Freeman, Fay Masterson, Daniel Craig

Rated: PG-13

My Review: I first saw this movie in Mrs. McDouglas' 10th grade english class. And the image of this movie has stayed with me ever since. Very powerful, and moving. It's one of the first movies that I found myself talking to the screen. The boy P.K. goes through so much hardship through out his entire life, that it sometimes makes me angry to watch such distruction to P.K. and the native Africans. Even though Morgan Freeman is only in the middle of the film, his role is the most powerful. With his wisdom and hope, and teaches P.K. how to stand up for himself. Even though film is a work of fiction, and is not based on any real person. This movie is still very gripping in it's telling of the stuggles of South Africa. 10 out of 10

Title: Glory

Year: 1989

Director: Edward Zwick

Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel  Washington, Morgan Freeman, Cary Elwes, Andre Braugher

Rated: R

My Review: Another movie that I saw in high school. This was a moment in history that I never knew existed. I knew of the Civil War, of course, but not that former slaves were volunteering becoming soldiers to help serve in the war for the north. It is a very important piece of history to remember, especially for black history month. Everyone does a fabulous job in this film. This is the only film that I know of that has both Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman both in. Which is a shame, because their acting together is very strong. I want to see more of these two actors in more movies. 8 out of 10