My First Review: The Hate U Give

Synopsis

The Hate U Give focuses on Starr Carter, a black female teenager from Garden Heights, a poor, high-crime, predominantly African-American area primarily run by the street gang, the King Lords, who attends Williamson Prep School, a prestigious, predominantly white private school, with her brothers Seven and Sakani. This narrative might sound familiar to those students who bear similarity to Starr. While at a weekend party, she reunites with her best friend Khalil Harris. Once a fight breaks out and shots are fired, Khalil offers to take her home, and on the ride, they are pulled over by a white police officer. Khalil is then violently murdered by Officer 115 for reaching for a weapon that is really a hairbrush. The rest of the film focuses on her struggle with the aftermath of this event and how it affects everyone around her.

T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E.: The Hate U Give Film Review

            T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E. “The Hate U Give Little Infants F***s Everybody.” This is the defining statement, said by Tupac Shakur, upon which this film is based. The Hate U Give, directed by George Tillman, Jr., written by Audrey Wells, and based on the novel by Angie Thomas, is a very deep, thought-provoking, and emotional experience.

            To start, this film is acted supremely well. The Hate U Give is led by an inspired performance by Amandla Stenberg (Everything, Everything, The Darkest Minds) and has an amazing supporting cast, including Regina Hall (Girls Trip, Barbershop: The Next Cut), Algee Smith (Detroit), K.J. Apa (Riverdale), Lamar Johnson (Kings), and an Academy Award-worthy performance by Russell Hornsby (Fences). It is written with a very poignant sense of reality. It unflinchingly, but correctly brings to fruition the challenges and consequences of the debate on  and the struggle between black versus white. While it might seem biased at times, it accurately voices the opinions on both sides of the Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter movements. The film does not manage to shy away from the violent reality of police officers’ altercations with black people. Yet, these themes are all brought together exceedingly well with the right dose of humor, drama, and reality.