Racial Issues Run Deep in ‘House Divided’

Though it’s set in a Civil War-era household that is struggling to overcome slaveryand family secrets, the Showtime movie “A House Divided” can be read, in a much larger sense, as the still-unfolding tale of America itself, as it attempts to move beyond that troubled past.

Based on Kent Anderson Leslie’s nonfiction book “Woman of Color, Daughter of Privilege,” the movie, which debuts Sunday, tells the story of Amanda America Dickson (Jennifer Beals), the offspring of a slave mother, Julia (LisaGay Hamilton), and wealthy landowner father, David Dickson (Sam Waterston).

When David Dickson dies in 1885 and leaves the bulk of his Georgia estate to Amanda, his jealous brother (Ron White) challenges the will and generates a general state of alarm. Amanda’s life unfolds in flashback as the lawyer who wrote the will (Tim Daly) probes for details while preparing to defend her interests.

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As written by Paris Qualles and directed by John Kent Harrison, the story rarely shies from awful truths or troubling complexities. We are in the room to witness Julia’s stunned horror as Dickson rapes her.

A bit later, we see exasperation--mixed with respect and even love--in the repentant Dickson’s face as Julia speaks her mind, heedless of consequence, and eventually wins not only his trust, but a place beside him running the plantation. Still later, we see how the light-skinned Amanda--who has been raised white--herself condescends to her darker-skinned mother.

Again and again, small but telling details hook themselves in the mind: field slaves working the rough, harsh earth in their bare feet, for instance, while in the big house, the owners pamper themselves with smooth, caressing fabrics and gleaming china.

The acting, too, is an accretion of small details, from Hamilton’s unbowed carriage to Waterston’s steady eyes.

The pace stalls at times, then rushes violently forward. But that’s the way change happens in the real world, so, in a way, it fits.

Working through suspicion and ingrained belief, these characters slowly remake themselves and begin to change the world around them. Theirs is a haunting yet hopeful lesson for an America that remains a house divided.

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* “A House Divided” debuts Sunday at 8 p.m. on Showtime. The cable network has rated it TV-14 (may be inappropriate for children younger than 14).