| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 92.3

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| Movie Review | The Journal of American History, 92.3 | The History Cooperative

Movie Reviews

Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property. Dir. by Charles Burnett. Prod. by Frank Christopher and Kenneth S. Greenberg. subpix, 2003. 58 mins. (California Newsreel, Box 2284, South Burlington, VT 05407-2284; 877-811-7495; <contact@newsreel.org>; <http://www.newsreel.org> [Sept. 12, 2005])

Nat Turner confided to the attorney Thomas R. Gray that he "wrapped [him]self in mystery," and ever since his actions and legacy have been contested ground. Recognizing that there is no single view of Turner or even that not enough documentation exists to sustain a single interpretation, director Charles Burnett and historical consultant Kenneth S. Greenberg have wisely chosen to tell their story from multiple viewpoints. Whereas filmmakers such as Ken Burns organize their photographs and interviews into a neat chronological narrative, Burnett understood that Turner was not merely a "troublesome property" during his short life, but that in the two centuries since his birth, Americans have struggled to come to terms with his bloody revolt. The result is a thoughtful, sophisticated film that reveals as much about how historians handle problematic evidence as it does about slave rebelliousness.

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