The Hate U Give

I believe this film creates an opportunity to open the eyes of someone not privy to our perspective. Sometimes they have to see these issues play out in front of them. A story or speech may not reach deep enough to connect you to the heart of people who have suffered loss and live in a near impossible situation. If you just see it as a I HATE WHITES movie, you've missed the point. Dig deeper.

Do I have some criticisms, of course. Some scenarios are obvious slaves to plot progression. One argument could be that only 1-2 characters had a complete arc and that some questions were left unanswered. Well, I agree. That's art imitating life.

I believe the dialogue regarding the title of the film was clever and introspective that I haven't been able to get it out of my head. It also asks me to form MY OWN opinion of the phrase's meaning. So: Mission Accomplished.

I'd say the acting was pretty good. Not the biggest fan of the language but unfortunately I know I'm in the minority there. Every character performed. It was exciting to see Anthony Mackie in this role. I think he sold it. Seven's actor stole his scenes. I believe that Common was allowed him to play himself, because a farther reach may not be believable. Amandla is something special. She is such a star and I can't wait to see what's in store for her.

Im proud to have seen it and it has the opportunity to open the eyes of some so blinded by their own privilege 8.5/10

Wow. Where do I start? I watch movie's of any type and genre If I think I will enjoy it and although (surprisingly) I had never heard of this film, it looked like one I might like. It had been on my planner for a couple of weeks and when I finally saw it I was blown away. I am a white male from a poor but not impoverished back ground, I have not experienced any of the events in the film nor do I know anyone who has, but I felt as though I was living the life of the main protagonist. The themes of unity and the situation of feeling like no one listens hit hard and the film worked wonderfully to illustrate how people at the bottom of the pile feel. Whether that be black, white or anything else. This film is not about one particular race over another it is purely about inequality in the structures around us.. I advise you give this film a watch and make up your own mind on what side of the fence you sit.

Because I'm from the city of St. Louis where we have our share of race issues, particularly issues that involve police, I really connected with the subject matter. It's a story worth telling, though I felt it was a bit over-written and more complex than it needed to be. But my biggest problem was that the presentation was too heavy-handed. Even though this movie unbiasedly explored the perspectives of everyone involved, it left no room for the viewers to form their own opinions. We were spoon fed, and at times it had the feel of an after school special. From the writing, to the performances, to the music, everything was very literal. There was no subtext or anything to read into. Maybe the filmmakers accomplished exactly what they were going for. The overall style was consistent throughout and it seemed that the artists behind this mostly hit their mark. For my money, however, I prefer an approach that is more challenging. But 6 out of 10 is still a passing grade. This is a subject that needed to be acknowledged on screen and I do feel that it was handled with respect and fairness.

This is an incredibly topical movie that addresses some very important social and racial issues that plague the American society. My problem here is that everything in this movie is so black and white (pun intended) that it loses its connection with the real world and helps perpetuate some stereotypes that aren't helpful for anybody. Now, I don't pretend to have the solution for these issues but I also am not sure that these kind of movies have them either. By making everything so morally easy doesn't help educate people that are faced with much more ambiguous challenges in real life and, for me, if they had made the movie more morally challenging it would make for a much more interesting and nuanced story. For example, my favorite scene in the movie is the short dialogue between Starr and her uncle when he gives her the cops point of view on the whole situation, but even that scene ends with a morally easy way out. I think this story needed more of those kind of scenes, where they would explore the ambiguity of the real world, and then, even if ambiguous, build an ethical point of view to try and do the correct thing and thus spreading your message through much harder scrutiny. On a technical note I think the movie is really well made and Amandla Stenberg was a revelation for me, as they needed someone who could carry the movie and she does a tremendous job, conveying charisma, strength and kindness, a very large emotional range for such a young actress. All in all I do think this is a good movie, even if it's preaching to the choir, that needed a bit more grey in a whole lot of black and white.

First off, the book was way better. It provides way more detail than the movie did, and I feel you should read the book first, gather way more information then the movies gives, and then watch the movie. This was a good movie, but I feel the editing was a little choppy and was quite basic. Amandla Stenberg absolutely slayed the roll though. She did an amazing job, and I haven't watched a movie with her in it that I didn't like. She's incredible. The movie didn't provide as much detail as the book, as I said above, so people did get more of the Black Lives Matter side out of the movie. You hear more from a black and a white cop in the book, so it was well done, giving two sides. All in all, the movie was good, but the book was way better. I highly recommend that you read the book before you watch the movie.