About the film (courtesy of Focus Features):
Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s escape from slavery and transformation into one of America’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
Harriet is one of those movies that does pretty much everything right. For starters, it’s well-acted. From the movie’s powerful lead, Cynthia Erivo, down to its actors with the smallest of scenes, it seems that director Kasi Lemmons had everyone on the same page and they were inspired to put their best foot forward. As with any historical endeavor that features a well-known subject, there isn’t too much leeway that can be acceptably given if you hope to maintain the essence of its lore. Lemmons does a pretty good job avoiding some of the aspects that could have led this “retelling” astray.
One of the main challenges with a film like this and its harsh subject matter, is finding balance between including enough raw subject matter but doing so much so that you make your story uncomfortable for today’s audiences. Harriet comes in with a surprising PG-13 rating when it could have easily hunkered down as a no punches pulled, R-rated biopic about slavery. Instead, Kasi Lemmons opts for a less-abrasive, yet still strikingly bold, narrative that gets all of the nasty subject matter, language, etc. visible enough for you to get the gist of the gravity of things.
Harriet is a big leap forward for its star, Cynthia Erivo, who has had very little experience in feature films. Widows (2018) and Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) were both only released last year and here she is landing such an iconic role in her third film. You wouldn’t know by watching this movie. Audiences will feel every ounce of pain she feels as well as the rage and pride that follows. As Harriet Tubman/Minty, Cynthia Erivo leaves nothing in the dressing room, she puts it all on camera and this movie is better for it. Joe Alwyn, Leslie Odom Jr., Clarke Peters and Janelle Monáe give inspired performances that will invoke all kinds of emotions from the viewing audiences.
The story of Harriet is told in a bit grander fashion than what you may have read in the history books. That’s the tariff one must pay in order to keep the moviegoers happy. If you’re going to make a successful movie, more times than not, you have embellish a little here and there. Thankfully this film doesn’t go overboard and lose itself in the process. For the most part, the story plays out as expected. There are a few portions that make this feel like a bit of a fantasy but it’s nothing to lose sleep over.
As historical dramas go, Harriet is a solid choice in terms of education and entertainment. These two items rarely coexist in a harmonious way, but this one gets it right most of the time. At 125 minutes, the pace keeps pretty steady throughout. The ebbs and flows are pretty measured as are the stages of this film. And maybe that can be seen as a slight negative as there seems to be a pattern of how things play out. Still though, it’s an experience worth checking out in theaters. You can see Harriet now in theaters across the country.
