Harriet

I wonder if the people giving this film a "nine" or "ten star" review or rating even saw this film? We are rating the film, not the person. If there is a botched and problem ridden film on da Vinci we don't rate the bad film highly because we like the person who is putative its subject.

Please. The scripting is insultingly lowbrow, almost patronizing. The acting talent has a good record in other productions but in this film is unrealized due to the other problems. There are quite a few ahistoric, frankly false, events in this film which are not needed and make the film more a less than credible hagiography as opposed to the plenty sufficient bravery, courage and strength of Tubman herself. Why maker her some kind of mythical comic book type character???? Is this the story about a real life hero, or about a graphic novel superwoman who people will just assume is fictional?

Lastly, I am not a religious believer. I am a confirmed atheist. But I find it troubling that Tubman's deep religious feelings and expression, whihc she used as the main, if not sole lens though which she saw the world, and which motivated her, is discounted.

The film is not a total loss, but Tubman deserves better, much better, as do contemporary audiences.

Harriet is a sincere tribute to the real-life freedom fighter. Excellent performances and a developed story add layers of entertainment. Anyone interested in documentaries or the subject material must watch this. The story tells the heroic tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's most influential figures. The film recounts how her courage and intelligence freed hundreds of slaves and changed history as we know it.

Cynthia Erivo, as Harriet Tubman, brings out something award-worthy. This actress of Broadway fame launches her star potential to greater heights as she perfectly captures Tubman's appearance on top of her distinguishing characteristics. The film is truly a vehicle for Cynthia's many talents. Other cast members include Leslie Odom Jr. as William Still and Janelle Monae as Marie. While Odom Jr.'s role is relatively one-note as someone Tubman sends runaways to, Monae adds heart to Marie as she settles Tubman for city life. As the film progresses, a heartbreaking scene sticks its landing due to the dynamic between the two.

Kasi Lemmons aptly directs, as the story is told chronologically. However, the cinematography does leave a little bit more to be desired, as it lacks nuance and something of interest, during extended dialogue-heavy scenes. Due to this, I felt the runtime and was left desiring the thrilling rescues that follow. It is worth mentioning that you must be interested in American history, or else you will truly remain bored during its two-hour runtime. My favorite scene is Tubman's first escape, because a thrilling scene follows where Tubman jumps downstream into the river rather than get captured. It is truly a testament to Tubman's courage and agility.

The message of this film is that Tubman always stands for justice and treats even her opponents fairly; really everything Tubman stands for speaks truth in heroic qualities. I give this film 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 12 to 18 due to violence, thematic content and language, including racial slurs.

Reviewed by Arjun N., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic. For more reviews by youth, visit kidsfirst dot org.

I think so many here are rating the film based on accuracy as opposed to whether or not it was a good cinematic experience. If the film were called something else, and you didn't spend the entire time comparing it to some encyclopedia (or Wikipedia for a lot of you), would you have enjoyed it? Probably, because it was interesting, suspenseful, exciting, moving, and well acted.

Remember it is not supposed to be a documentary. If it were, then yes, rate it based on accuracy. Even then, many aspects of her life were included in the movie. I deduct 1 star for inaccuracy, and the other two because it isn't a perfect film.

How does a movie like Avengers filler with completely made-up, unrealistic, green giants and floating hammers rate 8/9? Because you're rating the movie, not the accuracy. Then you watch Harriet, and suddenly you're a historian and a film critic. I dare you to make your own film, and make it better.

Watch it, enjoy it, learn a little bit, appreciate a lot. 7/10.

It's a partial biopic of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo), mostly set from 1849 to 1863 in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Upstate New York, and briefly in St. Catharines, Canada. The story begins with house slave Araminta Ross's marriage to John Tubman (Zackary Momoh), a free African American. "Minty" is owned by Edward Brodess (Mike Marunde) and his wife, Eliza (Jennifer Nettles). Their oldest son, Gideon (Joe Alwyn), plays a prominent role in pursuing Harriet throughout the film.

When the Brodess family threatens to sell Minty further south, she decides to flee north. Along the way, she receives help from a secret African American abolitionist pastor (Vondie Curtis-Hall), Quaker abolitionist Thomas Garrett (Tim Guinee), and William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.), an African American abolitionist in Philadelphia. After this first success, Araminta, who then takes the name Harriet Tubman, returns multiple times to Maryland to rescue her family and other enslaved people. Pursuers include Gideon Brodess, Bigger Long (Omar Dorsey), an African American slave catcher, and Walter (Henry Hunter Hall), another Black slave catcher.

"Harriet" has a lot going for it. Cynthia Erivo is outstanding and brilliantly reflects the changes in Harriet Tubman's self-understanding as she changes through the years. It does an excellent job with her visions, and the cinematography throughout is striking. The rest of the cast is somewhat stereotyped, probably to let Harriet shine. Joe Alwyn and Omar Dorsey are appropriately villainous. The other abolitionists are mostly backdrop. Nevertheless, "Harriet" makes a profound emotional impact.

The script plays quite a bit with history. The Fugitive Slave Act passed in 1850, very soon after Harriet's first escape; the film makes it appear to take place much later. The Brodess family did not have a son named Gideon. Araminta married John Tubman earlier than depicted in the movie. The film does not note an earlier Araminta Tubman escape attempt. There is no note of the financial abuse she suffered later in life in Upstate New York. Some of these are minor details but underscore that "Harriet" is not a true biopic.

HARRIET (2019)

Abolitionist Harriet Tubman escaped from Maryland to Philadelphia in 1849 on foot by following the North Star and utilizing the help of the Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes and safe houses set up by white abolitionists and free people of color to help slaves to freedom. She then repeatedly risked her life by going back into the lion's den over a period of eleven years to lead other slaves to their freedom. She never lost a passenger. This is so damn brave it makes my head spin.

This film served up a substantantial serving of history, embellished by a modicum of fiction. Though it's not a movie masterpiece, it's a strong depiction of Harriet's Heroes Journey that lifted me up for days. Cynthia Erivo's portrayal of a determined Harriet, known before her liberation as Araminta "Minty" Ross, (and later nicknamed Moses because she helped her people escape to freedom), was stirring; her singing was the gold on the edges. Harriet used spirituals as coded messages to warn fellows of danger or to signal a clear path.

The antagonist in the story is the racist, corrupt system of slavery embodied in part by her heartless owners. Plagued by hypersomnia sleeping spells caused by a head injury when she was thirteen, Minty's owner Edward Bodess tried to sell her. This would separate her from her family. There were no buyers for her. Angry, Minty prayed, "Oh Lord, if you ain't never going to change that man's heart, kill him, Lord, and take him out of the way." Edward died. Harriet expressed regret for that prayer.

Joe Alwyn played Gideon Brodess, Edward's grown son, with a conniving, lecherous sneer. Guideon leered after Minty and tormented her. Harriet's husband was a free black man in theory, but not reality; any future children of the couple would be slaves, regardless of papers granting manumet to Harriet's kin, which the Brodesses ignored. She and her husband planned to escape together, but Tubman fled alone and travelled a hundred miles through wilderness to Pennsylvania, being followed by her scummy owner Gildeon. Well, screw him, she made it, and became a heroine.