I was privileged to see this film Friday night at the Toronto Film Festival. It was a riveting and exciting story about the history of the Maori tribes in New Zealand and their conflicts with the British as well as with each other. Thomas Monro (Guy Pearce) is a lay preacher who comes to serve the British settlement in New Zealand. Pearce gives an emotionally riveting performance and the rest of the lead cast, particularly Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne, Jacqueline McKenzie, and Dean O'Gorman, were memorable and masterful in their roles. The story explores the age-old conflicts between tribes as well as those tribes and their victimization by the invading culture (in this case, The British). The resolution reflects the irony of the title. Overall, very worth seeing and I will see it again!
Review of The Convert
