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FOR those familiar with William Wilberforce's Kent connections - he often visited his lifelong friend, prime minister and Bromley boy William Pitt here - it's hard not to let a smirk slip when the abolitionist is seen in one of Amazing Grace's scenes contemplating strategies to rid the world of slavery beneath a grand, old oak, reputedly still found within Holwood, near Bromley's grounds.

Amazing Grace is rich with these moments. From when the rookie MP (a simple yet sturdy turn from Ioan Gruffudd) causes a stir in parliament with his controversial views (opposition to slavery was very much a minority view when his campaign began) and wickedly witty put-downs to his friends' attempts to match-make the bachelor with the sassy and smart Barbara (Ramola Garai).

She not only marries the all-round humanitarian - he's got a delightfully excessive hoard of pets and never turns away a beggar - but inspires him to pick up the protest again, to shake off the shackles of slavery once and for all.

Alongside haughty performances from Rufus Sewell as a revolutionary and defected politician Michael Gambon, this all adds a lightness of touch to a tale filled with the lower ebbs of Wilberforce's life such as spells of ill health and opium addiction.

It's these ups and downs which make the closing scene, when, after a life-time of campaigning, Wilberforce's bill is finally pushed through, a genuinely moving moment; depicted sweetly by a watery-eyed Gruffudd.

Amazing Grace is not only a perfect way to commemorate 300 years since abolition and learn of the lesser-known struggles behind Wilberforce's 20-year campaign, this smart and gorgeously-shot historical mini-epic is also an apt tribute to a great man well worth remembering.