Harriet

6/15/2020

'Harriet' stumbles in its clichéd storytelling and focus on going for gold - but that's not to undermine the fantastic acting, groundbreaking music, and of course the incredible true story of Harriet Tubman's bravery. With Black Lives Matter, the fight to end violence and systemic racism towards black people is rooted in the United States' DNA and 'Harriet', and sadly serves as yet another reminder of the constant mistreatment of African Americans. Films about slavery are still relevant, as that same discrimination is still taking place today. I want to end with lyrics from the film's song 'Stand Up' which feel very potent: “I'm going to stand up, take my people with me, together we are going, to a brand-new home.“ - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswit

10/27/2024

Cynthia Erivo delivers really strongly here as the eponymous woman who strives to escape generations of enslavement herself, then work to free her family and her race from the brutal oppression of their overlords. This characterisation of her sheer determination, coupled with a feistiness and courage is indeed well captured but sadly the rest of this is little better than an ordinary television movie. It's not that anyone is especially bad, it's just that none - especially Joe Alwyn's "Brodess" - really cut through. Janelle Monáe doesn't feature often enough to make too much impact and the rest rather follows a precisely produced narrative that failed to inject any real sense of the menace faced by this woman swimming against a societal tide that few had dared before her. It's all just a b