The Hate U Give: Movie Review
Based on Angie Thomas’ 2017 novel of the same name, “The Hate U Give” is filled with some truly strong performances and an even stronger message. Directed by George Tillman Jr. (“Soul Food”, “Notorious”) and adapted by Audrey Wells, the film succeeds at bringing out the audience’s various emotions, from engaging to enraging. It is Amandla Stenberg (star of last month’s little seen” The Darkest Minds”) that shoulder’s the weight of bringing the main character, Starr Carter to life and does so with tremendous success. Despite good performances from Regina Hall, Anthony Mackie and Russell Hornsby it is Stenberg who absolutely shines.
Starr Carter spends each day in two completely different worlds. The first is in the mostly black neighborhood in which she lives. The other is in the rich, mostly which prep school that she attends with her brother. She even has a white boyfriend, Chris (K.J. Apa) that she is not all too excited about introducing to her family, especially her father Maverick (Hornsby).
During the weekend, Starr usually hangs around her neighborhood. One night, while attending a house party, she runs in to her childhood friend Khalil (Algee Smith). After gunshots go off, they two flee, only to be pulled over by the police shortly after. This leads to Khalil being fatally shot by the cop who mistook a hairbrush for a gun and Starr being the sole witness. Now she is unsure if she should go public with what she saw. By going public, she would anger King (Mackie) the most powerful drug dealer in the neighborhood. Since Khalil worked for him, he of course doesn’t want the attention. There are also the potential threats to Starr and her family.
Despite feeling a bit too long, running at 132 minutes, “The Hate U Give” is just way too good to ignore. We live in a time where a film like this relevant in so many ways, from race, political, to female empowerment. This is about not only finding your voice and making sure you are heard, but also showing how we as adults behave have a huge impact on who our children grow up to be. They are not only raised by their parents, but by the community around them.
By: Marc Ferman