Co-written and Directed by Lee Tamahori, The Convert is the story of preacher Thomas Munro (Guy Pearce) who arrives on a grand tall ship to the desolate settler town of Epworth that is simply like nothing that he could have ever imagined. While he finds himself looking for a new life he quickly gets entangled in the local politics of the area because in spite of the growing colonial British presence in the early 19th century, Aotearoa (aka New Zealand, it is all still very much a place dominated by Māori. More of a ramshackle collection of buildings then a settlement they find themselves in a very precarious position placed between two waring tribes. Having saved the life the daughter of one of the chiefs of the tribes, Munro finds himself trying to create peace not only between the two warring factions but also with the settlers who are stuck in their ways.
While admittedly being fairly predictable, Tamahori still does a solid job with The Convert taking us into the cultural tensions of the situation and allows for it to feel like a morality play with a little bit of action sprinkled in.
The Māori are never denigrated as “simple” tribes people and Pearce with his sage movie star presence manages to tow the line between a weak man of god and a man of action who knows how to get things done.
The Convert will never be accused of being flashy, but it’s solid entertainment.
- Genre: Action, Drama, Historical
- Directed by: Lee Tamahori
- Starring: Antonio Te Maioha, Guy Pearce, Jacqueline McKenzie, Lawrence Makoare, Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne
- Written by: Lee Tamahori, Shane Danielson
