‘The Hate U Give’ is powerfully honest, relevant
“The Hate U Give” doesn’t waste any time.
In the first scene, Maverick Carter (Russell Hornsby) gathers his family for an important talk: how to react when the police stop you. Hands on the dashboard, do everything they say. He’s specifically addressing two of his older children, ages 10 and 8. The scene is a striking revelation of what some families go through these days.
From the trailers, it’s obvious that the movie addresses police brutality and mirrors the Black Lives Matter movement. But the trailer doesn’t do justice to the film’s heart.
With plenty of moments to cheer for and cry over, the film, which is based on Angie Thomas’ novel of the same name, is one of the most powerfully honest
movies of 2018.
Starr (Amandla Stenberg) doesn’t really fit in anywhere. Her family lives in Garden Heights, a low-income neighborhood with primarily black residents. But she goes to school at Williamson High School, which has a primarily white and affluent student body.
When she’s with friends in her hometown, she can say all thevernacular she wants, yet she’s mocked for attending private school. However she avoids lingo and confrontation in fear of being judged as “hood,” even if white students like her boyfriend Chris (K.J. Apa) ironically uses it at her school.
When viewers see both settings, the cinematography transforms between warm colors for Garden Heights and cool blue hues for Williamson. It emphasizes how night and day these world’s thoughts, locations and residents are.
She has an older brother, Seven (Lamar Johnson), and a little brother, Sekani (TJ Wright). Her mother (Regina Hall) and her father, a former drug-dealing King Lords gang member, do everything they can to give their family a chance in a harsh world.
After some expository background information on Starr’s life, she goes to a Garden Heights party where a fight and gunshot scatters the scene. Childhood best friend Khalil (Algee Smith) drives Starr home, but before they can make it the couple is stopped by a white police officer who eventually shoots the unarmed teenage boy.
Guided by April Ofrah (Issa Rae), a Black Lives Matter-like leader, Starr learns to stand up for what she feels is right.
The story makes great use of its characters by adding diverse points of view. Her uncle Carlos (Common) is a cop who understands where the officer was coming from yet grieves with a community he knows well. Starr’s friends from school don’t understand what she’s going through and add insult to injury by treating a march for Khalil as an excuse to ditch school.
Hornsby and Wright’s characters were scene-stealers whenever they were on screen, but a Kings Lord subplot is unnecessary and distracts from the bigger message.
Despite being a serious movie, there are plenty of lighthearted, hilarious moments. Seven quizzing Chris’ “black card” before meeting Starr’s dad and a moment in which she introduces Chris to Maverick is easily the funniest 10 minutes of the movie.
During one of the protests, a man confronts a black cop behind a riot shield and asks why he isn’t on the other side. It’s a pivotal scene that shows how hate isn’t a one-sided thing. It’s something that affects everyone.
This timely movie is a must-see.