Harriet – ★★★★✩

Certificate – 12A
Directed By – Kasi Lemmons
Starring – Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, Joe Alwyn, Janelle Monàe, Jennifer Nettles, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Clarke Peters.
Running Time – 126 Minutes (2 Hours 6 Minutes)

Going into the screening of Harriet, I knew nothing about this incredible woman and the trailer I saw looked great, so I was excited.

What Is Harriet About?

Based on the thrilling and inspirational life of an iconic American freedom fighter, Harriet tells the extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman’s (Erivo) escape from slavery and transformation into one of American’s greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity, and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Is It Any Good?

It’s a solid, decent film, but the film is clearly a showcase for Erivo who should be getting multiple Best Actress nominations.

The British actress is incredible! She delivers a powerful, raw and fabulous performance that you’ll be rooting for this extraordinary woman and be in awe as the story goes on.

That’s the other thing about this film. While it’s understandable folks in the UK wouldn’t know anything about this woman but I think everyone should see this movie, schools should show this movie as part of Black History Month and learn about her.

It was hard to watch in places and you see the struggle and the discussion between black slaves and blacks who were born free and historical impact Harriet had on America.

It’s amazing it’s taken until now to have Harriet’s story to be told. Honestly, this should’ve been released at least in the 1980s.

Away from Erivo powerhouse performance and the story, the support did a great job especially Odom Jr and Alwyn who gives a conflicted performance as he’s an arsehole but you can see cares for Harriet in his awful twisted way.

I can see the British actor become a strong character actor and people to go “oh him from….”

Anything Bad About The Film?

Nothing major but I would love to see more of Harriet taking control showing more initiative instead of relying on God guiding her.

Unless it’s a true fact then I have no issues.

Verdict

Erivo delivers an incredible, Oscar-worthy performance to match an incredible woman and story.