Harriet
Harriet is a biopic of Harriet Tubman's life as an escaped slave and her career as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. It touches briefly on her service during the Civil War, as well as her later years and work with women's suffrage and civil rights. It stars Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, and Janelle Monae and was released in US theatres on November 1, 2019. Harriet is rated PG-13 for violence, racial slurs/brief language, and adult themes.
I saw Harriet on Sunday afternoon, 11/10/19, in a smaller auditorium (82 seat capacity, probably about 25-30 people total in attendance) with mostly middle-aged white people. As I said to Nikoda at the time, there was a whole lot of white guilt in that theatre. Overall, Harriet was an enjoyable experience: I learned some new things, it wasn't super hard to watch (at least for me, your mileage may vary), the acting was top-notch and the score wasn't overbearing or unnoticeable. There was a bit of an issue with pacing around the 1:30 minute mark; I have to admit I checked my watch. But the film picked up the pieces well and finished strong and I didn't find the 2:05 run-time unbearable.
For those who despise even the most minor of spoilers: there are what may be considered spoilers ahead. You've been warned!
The basic plot of the film deals with Harriet's decision to escape slavery, showing her journey to freedom, followed by her attempts to rescue her family and then touching on her work with the Underground Railroad. The movie is a fairly faithful biopic of Harriet Tubman's life from the age of 27 to 38 or so.
Several times through the course of the movie, songs and music ("negro spirituals" or gospel songs) were used as a form of coded communication between the slaves. I found this very interesting and well-done. I had no idea that this sort of communication was employed by slaves, although it makes sense. How many people today who speak English as a second language will say things in their native tongue right under the noses of white people who are none the wiser? Genius.
It was also rather refreshing to see a movie about slavery and the interaction between white slave-owners and black slaves without being made to feel sorry for the slave-owners. While there were no actual white devils in the movie (although one got mighty close), white people and their actions/attitudes were not sugar coated. The terrible treatment of slaves at the hands of cruel and unforgiving masters is on display several times, and alluded to both implicitly and explicitly by various characters as they tell their stories. There weren't any real revelations (at least, for me) as to how badly slaves were treated: regular beatings, whippings, branding/burns with hot irons, rapes and other sexual assaults, etc. All awful, for sure, but not new knowledge.
My biggest complaint was how often Harriet's visions/premonitions were shown and how they were treated as an almost super-power of hers. I understand that she truly believed that God was speaking through her and allowing her to navigate unfamiliar and dangerous terrain quickly and safely with several people in tow, however, the film didn't do a good job of driving home the facts: that Harriet most likely had permanent brain damage as a result of a childhood injury (at the hands of her master, of course) and suffered from dizziness, chronic pain, hypersomnia, and possibly epilepsy for her entire life. It wasn't a super-power, it was a serious head/brain injury that caused her to lose consciousness and experience vivid dreams and possibly hallucinations while seizing.
One other, very minor complaint I have with Harriet is how the film glossed over her service during the Civil War, particularly her leadership during the Raid at Combahee River that ultimately freed over 750 slaves and caused massive damage to plantation owners' property and infrastructure. Harriet Tubman was actually the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War, and to this day, she remains one of only a few women to ever command an armed force.
After this, Harriet continued to work for the Union army as a scout and spy, and even provided medical care to the troops, but this detail was relegated to a few sentences shown on screen. Her work later in life with Susan B Anthony as a suffragette was nothing more than a footnote before the credits rolled. I personally had no idea of the myriad other contributions Harriet Tubman made to the advancement of not just people of color but women as a whole, and I feel like that's a whole other movie in itself. Can't wait for Harriet 2: The Return of Moses.
Even with those minor issues, I think Harriet is a must-see film. The people who most need to see it won't, unfortunately, but that shouldn't stop you from supporting a quality flick with excellent actors that's not backed by a major studio. You're not going to see this one advertised on TV anytime soon, so it needs you to vote with your dollars.
Have you seen Harriet and do you disagree with my take? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
I saw Harriet on Sunday afternoon, 11/10/19, in a smaller auditorium (82 seat capacity, probably about 25-30 people total in attendance) with mostly middle-aged white people. As I said to Nikoda at the time, there was a whole lot of white guilt in that theatre. Overall, Harriet was an enjoyable experience: I learned some new things, it wasn't super hard to watch (at least for me, your mileage may vary), the acting was top-notch and the score wasn't overbearing or unnoticeable. There was a bit of an issue with pacing around the 1:30 minute mark; I have to admit I checked my watch. But the film picked up the pieces well and finished strong and I didn't find the 2:05 run-time unbearable.
For those who despise even the most minor of spoilers: there are what may be considered spoilers ahead. You've been warned!
The basic plot of the film deals with Harriet's decision to escape slavery, showing her journey to freedom, followed by her attempts to rescue her family and then touching on her work with the Underground Railroad. The movie is a fairly faithful biopic of Harriet Tubman's life from the age of 27 to 38 or so.
Several times through the course of the movie, songs and music ("negro spirituals" or gospel songs) were used as a form of coded communication between the slaves. I found this very interesting and well-done. I had no idea that this sort of communication was employed by slaves, although it makes sense. How many people today who speak English as a second language will say things in their native tongue right under the noses of white people who are none the wiser? Genius.
It was also rather refreshing to see a movie about slavery and the interaction between white slave-owners and black slaves without being made to feel sorry for the slave-owners. While there were no actual white devils in the movie (although one got mighty close), white people and their actions/attitudes were not sugar coated. The terrible treatment of slaves at the hands of cruel and unforgiving masters is on display several times, and alluded to both implicitly and explicitly by various characters as they tell their stories. There weren't any real revelations (at least, for me) as to how badly slaves were treated: regular beatings, whippings, branding/burns with hot irons, rapes and other sexual assaults, etc. All awful, for sure, but not new knowledge.
My biggest complaint was how often Harriet's visions/premonitions were shown and how they were treated as an almost super-power of hers. I understand that she truly believed that God was speaking through her and allowing her to navigate unfamiliar and dangerous terrain quickly and safely with several people in tow, however, the film didn't do a good job of driving home the facts: that Harriet most likely had permanent brain damage as a result of a childhood injury (at the hands of her master, of course) and suffered from dizziness, chronic pain, hypersomnia, and possibly epilepsy for her entire life. It wasn't a super-power, it was a serious head/brain injury that caused her to lose consciousness and experience vivid dreams and possibly hallucinations while seizing.
One other, very minor complaint I have with Harriet is how the film glossed over her service during the Civil War, particularly her leadership during the Raid at Combahee River that ultimately freed over 750 slaves and caused massive damage to plantation owners' property and infrastructure. Harriet Tubman was actually the first woman to lead an armed assault during the Civil War, and to this day, she remains one of only a few women to ever command an armed force.
After this, Harriet continued to work for the Union army as a scout and spy, and even provided medical care to the troops, but this detail was relegated to a few sentences shown on screen. Her work later in life with Susan B Anthony as a suffragette was nothing more than a footnote before the credits rolled. I personally had no idea of the myriad other contributions Harriet Tubman made to the advancement of not just people of color but women as a whole, and I feel like that's a whole other movie in itself. Can't wait for Harriet 2: The Return of Moses.
Even with those minor issues, I think Harriet is a must-see film. The people who most need to see it won't, unfortunately, but that shouldn't stop you from supporting a quality flick with excellent actors that's not backed by a major studio. You're not going to see this one advertised on TV anytime soon, so it needs you to vote with your dollars.
Have you seen Harriet and do you disagree with my take? Please let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
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