The story of William Wilberforce, who spearheaded the abolition of slavery and the slave trade in 18th century England. As a Member of Parliament Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) successfully challenged entrenched interests by assembling a diverse coalition of slavery opponents. Also with Albert Finney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Gambon and Romola Garai. Directed by Michael Apted. [1:51]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - In a public house, men kiss the necks and cleavage of women who wear period low-cut dresses. Women wear period low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage.
► A husband and wife kiss in a few scenes.
► A man and a woman try to arrange a romantic meeting between a man and a woman.

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - We hear about a slave ship burning and of many people dying, and we see a boy engulfed in flames.
► A man shows shackles and talks in detail about the conditions of slave ships. in several scenes. We see the hold of a slave ship and a man talks about women being shackled and raped.
► A horse is brutally whipped and kicked by two men (we hear the animal whimpering), and another man tells them to let the horse rest and stop hitting it.
► A man suffers from the memories of commanding a slave ship, and is unable to forget the horrific sights that he experienced.
► A man gambles using his slave as a bet, and another man refuses to participate using these stakes.
► We hear that people were buried alive. People talk about many people dying from dysentery while traveling on slave ships and about problems with waste disposal.
► A man shows a scar from being branded as a slave. A man who has lost his legs pulls himself along the ground using his hands. We see that a man is missing fingers on one hand. A man collapses from abdominal pain in a few scenes. A man appears very sick and weak through most of the movie.
► A man yells at a woman.

LANGUAGE 2 - 1 anatomical term, 4 mild obscenities, 2 derogatory terms for Africans, 2 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A man takes laudanum in many scenes. A man drinks alcohol from a flask and shares it with another man, men and women drink alcohol in several scenes, several men drink alcohol and gamble, and people are shown drinking wine at a dinner. Men smoke pipes. A man takes medicine to help him sleep. A man talks about opium.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Slavery, politics, appeasement, justice, humanity, morality, gambling, change, guilt, regret, dysentery, caution, brutality, finding God, charities, fear, compassion, friendship, making a better world, political activism, solitude, forgiveness.

MESSAGE - Moral and political progress are slow in coming, but well worth fighting for.