For many years, schools have been teaching about the incredible Harriet Tubman. However, there is so much that people still don’t know about her life, and I think that the new movie, “Harriet,” does a decent job of bringing her to life.
The story starts with Harriet, originally known as Minty, requesting that her master allow her children to be born free. He declines her request, and this serves as a breaking point for Harriet. The rest of the story follows Harriet as a free woman and the incredible feats she was able to accomplish within her lifespan.
To be completely honest, the movie was lacking in excitement. Obviously, the scenes of slaves escaping is exciting within itself, but it seemed as if they glossed over the difficulty of it. The movie focuses more on what she did, not how she did it. We all learned from history class that escaping slavery is diffiicult, but I don’t believe the movie really showcased this. However, the script was very impactful. There were many rousing monologues by Harriet and other freed slaves that made up for the drama that the scenes were lacking. Not to mention, the conversations between family members were full of emotion.
Some of the characters were well-illustrated. While Harriet Tubman herself was a developed character, others were left to be nothing but a quick conversation. With that being said, all of the actors and actresses portrayed their roles well. Cynthia Erivo, the actress who played Harriet Tubman, stood out the most to me. She was extremely believable, and I felt the emotion in every line she spoke. Another actress who stood out was Janelle Monae. While she may be known for her music career, she portrayed Marie, a free black woman in Philadelphia, extremely well.
Finally, the visuals were quite impressive. The cinematography was impactful and really showed the movie in the way it should have been shown. However, to bring back what I said earlier, the cinematography was bringing the drama, not the actions. The camera work was filming scenes as if they were super dramatic, but the movie itself was not showing how impressive her actions really were. When it came to costumes though, they were something to note. Since “Harriet” is a historical movie, costumes are an essential part of a movie. After Harriet’s escape, her dress is extremely torn up, showing just how difficult her escape was.
Overall, “Harriet” was an important movie, but it didn’t come without flaws. While “Harriet” portrays Harriet’s life well, it is not the best representation of her life in my opinion. It doesn’t do justice to the magnitude of her feats, but it does illustrate the nationwide fight over slaves. In the end, it was an eye-opening movie that really brings a sense of respect for Harriet Tubman.