Back home

Harriet

863 votes

The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.

Status: Released

Released Date: 2019-11-01

Runtime: 125 mins

Director: Kasi Lemmons

Spoken language: English, Italiano

Genres: Drama, History

Original title: Harriet

Production Companies: Stay Gold Features, Martin Chase Productions, Perfect World Pictures, Focus Features, MACRO

Production Countries: United States of America

Cast

Cynthia Erivo

Leslie Odom Jr.

Joe Alwyn

Clarke Peters

Vanessa Bell Calloway

Omar J. Dorsey

Henry Hunter Hall

Tim Guinee

Nick Basta

Joseph Lee Anderson

Antonio J Bell

CJ McBath

Alexis Louder

Aria Brooks

Reviews

Geronimo1967

Cynthia Erivo delivers really strongly here as the eponymous woman who strives to escape generations of enslavement herself, then work to free her family and her race from the brutal oppression of their overlords. This characterisation of her sheer determination, coupled with a feistiness and courage is indeed well captured but sadly the rest of this is little better than an ordinary television movie. It's not that anyone is especially bad, it's just that none - especially Joe Alwyn's "Brodess" - really cut through. Janelle Monáe doesn't feature often enough to make too much impact and the rest rather follows a precisely produced narrative that failed to inject any real sense of the menace faced by this woman swimming against a societal tide that few had dared before her. It's all just a bit too clean, too sterile and even at it's emotional height - well, I just kept thinking someone was going to give us a song. Maybe it would have had more impact that way? There's also too little emphasis on her work as a "freedom fighter" - a sort of Robin Hood style of character determined to emancipate her people with a bare minimum of violence and spurning the more obvious instincts of revenge upon her former persecutors. The message is there, OK, but it relies far too much on the presumed attitudes of the audience rather than powerfully demonstrate the bleakness of her prospects and the injustice of their psychologically shackled existence. It's watchable enough, but sadly just a little too underwhelming.

2024-10-27

maketheSWITCH

'Harriet' stumbles in its clichéd storytelling and focus on going for gold - but that's not to undermine the fantastic acting, groundbreaking music, and of course the incredible true story of Harriet Tubman's bravery. With Black Lives Matter, the fight to end violence and systemic racism towards black people is rooted in the United States' DNA and 'Harriet', and sadly serves as yet another reminder of the constant mistreatment of African Americans. Films about slavery are still relevant, as that same discrimination is still taking place today. I want to end with lyrics from the film's song 'Stand Up' which feel very potent: “I'm going to stand up, take my people with me, together we are going, to a brand-new home.“ - Chris dos Santos Read Chris' full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-harriet-a-flawed-harriet-tubman-biopic-with-a-phenomenal-performance

2020-06-15

Recommendations

Truchlivý mír

1970-11-03

Die Aldi-Brüder

2018-10-22

After the second world war two brothers, Theo and Karl Albrecht take over their mother's company and

Mangal Pandey - The Rising

2005-08-12

The film begins in 1857, when India was ruled by the British East India Company. Mangal Pandey is a

Caravaggio

1986-08-29

A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century Baroque painter Michelangelo Merisi da Carava

La Traviata

2025-04-06

Parisian courtesan, Violetta meets the romantic aristocrat Alfredo and finds herself in love for the

2.4

Oh, You Beautiful Doll

1949-11-11

Period musical about a song plugger who vows to turn an opera composer's music into popular hits.

4.2

Attenborough at 90: Behind the Lens

2016-04-30

As Sir David Attenborough turns 90, this intimate film presents new interviews, eye-opening behind-t

2.3

Elmore Leonard: "But Don't Try to Write"

2021-03-26

Elmore Leonard, author of more than 40 novels, is renowned in the literary community. From his weste

2.6

Dahmer

2002-06-21

On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the world's most infamous seria

3.4

Music of the Heart

1999-10-29

Story of a schoolteacher's struggle to teach violin to inner-city Harlem kids.

Carry Me Home: A Remember America Film

2016-07-13

In the cold winter of 1860, a young mother trapped in slavery seizes the opportunity to escape with

After Mein Kampf?

1961-08-01

By combining actual footage with reenactments, this film offers both a documentary and fictional acc

The Gardens of Murcia

1936-11-28

Murcia countryside, Spain, at the end of the 19th century. Pencho, a peasant, and Xavier, son of a p

3.1

Taking Woodstock

2009-08-26

The story of Elliot Tiber and his family, who inadvertently played a pivotal role in making the fame

An Afternoon in Geneva

2013-12-18

In 1973, towards the end of the Franco regime, the famous catalan writer Mercè Rodoreda bumped into

3.5

All the King's Men

1949-11-16

A man of humble beginnings and honest intentions rises to power by nefarious means. Along for the wi

3.4

The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel

1951-10-16

The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.

3.4

Park Row

1952-09-01

In New York's 1880s newspaper district, a dedicated journalist manages to set up his own paper. It i

3.4

Dragonwyck

1946-04-19

For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, se

Casey Stengel

1981-05-06

Charles Durning appears as the legendary baseball manager Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel in this one