Poor Amandla Stenberg. She's a great actress who consistently appears in bad movies. Columbiana, The Hunger Games, Rio 2, Everything Everything...At least The Darkest Minds was entertainingly awful. She's been the best thing in every movie she's appeared in and it's been beyond frustrating to see her waste her time in terrible movies that aren't worthy of her talents as an actress. The Hate U Give remedies that problem. Not only is it a good film, it's one of the best films of the year; as a Diablo Cody-esque Young Adult comedy, it works. As a commentary on race relations, it works. As a character study about mourning and teenage self identity, it works. And as a platform to showcase Stenberg's considerable skills as an actress, it works with flying colors.
The acting, as predicted, is phenomenal. Stenberg gives one of the best performances of the year as Starr Carter, a bright and shy private school student going through a massive change of heart following the murder of her close friend and crush, Khalil. Her delivery and facial acting have such an incredible conviction and energy to them and she more than delivers in the more emotional and powerful scenes of the film. Whether she's crying at the coffin of a loved one, unleashing her righteous fury on a racist former friend or rallying the masses with a moving speech, Stenberg tears up the screen. Both emotionally vulnerable and relatable while carrying an exceptional amount of charisma and heroism in her performance, Stenberg's portrayal of Starr makes for a heroine who is impossible not to be inspired and moved by.
I haven't seen Russell Hornsby in any film or TV show prior to The Hate U Give, but his acting here makes me morbidly curious to check out his other work. If Stenberg's acting wasn't as spectacular as it was, Hornsby easily stolen the show as Maverick Carter, Starr's idealistic and passionate father. Hornsby is funny, rousing, powerful and deeply human, sometimes all at once. This is an Academy Award worthy performance, no question, and this is an actor who desperately needs more work
I had very mixed feelings towards KJ Apa as an actor from Riverdale, but his performance as Chris has completely redeemed him in my eyes. He's sympathetic, nuanced and affably dorky. Apparently, Stenberg isn't the only great actor burdened with an unfortunate filmography.
It definitely helps this underdog cast that they're playing much more interesting, relatable and likable characters than they're usually given. Starr's character development is among the finest I've seen in a coming-of-age film, right up there with Jim Stark in Rebel Without A Cause and Sam Monroe in the criminally underrated Life as a House. You can really feel her increasing insecurity, paranoia and inner torment as societal pressures from both the black world and the white world increasingly come down on her. Watching her grow from a diplomatic bystander into an uncontrollable, impassioned and furious force of righteous change and racial retribution is incredibly satisfying, especially given the emotional roller coaster this film took me down with her character. I cried with Starr, I laughed with Starr and I even found myself silently wishing I could cheer and shout with Starr as she raises up the people around her and brutally silences her critics. Marverick Carter's arc is handled beautifully as well, beginning the film as an old school "Black Panther" type, growing into a more over-protective and sheltering father and finally returning back to threshold as the incredible hero whom he always desired to be (And who his children saw him as) in the 3rd act of the film.
One of my favorite aspects about The Hate U Give is how it seamlessly balances so many different genres. The witty, creative use of teenage slang and perfect comedic timing give it weight as a Young Adult comedy, the nuanced, unpredictable and original way that it tackles race and race relations (I was beyond impressed by how little narrative cliches this movie uses) give it weight as a racial commentary and Stenberg's harrowing and heartbreaking journey of grief and self reflection give it weight as a character study. None of these genres overpowers the other tonally or thematically, it's a seamless blending and it works beautifully. The film is cohesive and consistent in its tone, which is a rare compliment for a modern Hollywood theatrical release.
Praise must also be given to the directing of this film, which I feel may get overlooked with everything else the film does right. George Tillman Jr. does a rather brilliant job lingering on symbolic iconography associated with Civil Rights movements more and more over the course of the film; hoodies, hairbrushes, megaphones, e.t.c. However, these images go by quickly and at an odd angle, so the effect is subliminal rather than clumsy and manipulative. This is visual symbolism at its finest and it just goes to show that, like the best filmmakers, Tillman Jr. has an unquestionable understanding for the importance of visuals over dialogue in the medium of film (Not that the dialogue isn't, as previously described, often witty, funny and clever.)
The Hate U Give is an amazing film and you need to see it right now. So many films these days based on race come across as exploitative, cliched and generic, but this one delivers in all of the ways those films don't. It's sincere, it's original, it's unpredictable and it has genuine heart behind it. And it's the first good movie in Amandla Stenberg's filmography! How about that?
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