Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Review By: MattInRC We have mixed feelings over Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and here's why. If you're a fan of historical drama like us, movies like Lincoln and Elizabeth are must-haves, content to show us pivotal moments instead of epic re-tellings of our titular hero's entire life. Films like those seemed like good ideas growing up, but now they feel too compacted, unable to spread their wings to tell a deeper story. Such is the case with the Nelson Mandela biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom , a film that looks and sounds amazing, is filled with excellent performances, but struggles to cram in every important moment behind the history of a complex man. We first see Mandela as a boy entering manhood during an ancient African ceremony in which he paints his face white then runs with other boys into a lake to wash the color off. This theme of rebirth will be repeated throughout the film, as an older Mandela ( Idris Elba