Movie Review: 'The Hate U Give' Finds Hope Amidst Tragedy And Heartbreak

Author note: This ended up being one of the longest reviews I’ve written, maybe the actual longest. Didn’t plan it that way; I started and just kept going. So here’s a TL;DR:
Fantastic movie; amazing performances; star turn for Amandla Stenberg; hard to watch but a must-watch; 3rd act drags on but still finishes strong; keep an eye out come Oscar time

The Hate U Give wastes no time in diving right into the deep stuff. Its opening scene shows 9-year old Starr Carter and her two siblings, older half-brother Seven and infant brother Sekani, hearing “the talk” from their father Maverick. Though in this case, “the talk” is about what they are to do when (not if) they are ever pulled over by the police. To an outsider this might seem like an inappropriate conversation to be having with kids so young. But the movie is telling us right off the bat what kind of story we’re in for; that the need to know this lesson is as important as it is unfortunate that Maverick’s kids need to learn it so early in life, or at all.

The movie then skips ahead to 16-year-old Starr, as she tries to juggle two separate lives. She has her home life in the poor neighborhood Garden Heights. Then there is her school persona: “Starr 2.0.” Rather than attend the local public school, her parents decided to send the three kids to Williamson Prep, an elite, private – and nearly all-white – school. At Williamson, everything she says and does is carefully thought out, so as not to stand out any more than she already does. And this right here is where the movie starts to form a personal connection with many viewers. While not under the exact same circumstances, or even to the same extent, many of us can relate to the “double lives” we feel we need to lead. Whether it’s home and work, family and friends, college friends and high school friends. Many people relate to this, at least on some level.

That aspect was important for the movie to nail down. The story by itself is relevant and tragic, and the acting is phenomenal, so the audience will likely be drawn in almost immediately anyway. But if it’s able to give them a personal connection, well that’s just all the better. It gets them emotionally invested right away; the movie doesn’t have to wait for the horrible inciting incident for that to happen.

And what an incident it is. Starr is leaving a party with her childhood best friend Khalil, after a fight broke out and gun shots were fired. On the drive home, a police officer pulls Khalil over for failing to signal a lane change, and I think you all know what comes next. Even though I knew it was coming (you know from the trailers exactly how the main part of this scene plays out) it still got me. I still jumped as the officer fired his gun.

I want to talk about that scene – and Khalil as a character – for a second. Khalil’s murder is the inciting incident for the rest of the movie. It was vital that it was done correctly and done well. And it was done perfectly. Starting with the introduction of Khalil at the party, actor Algee Smith owns the character. He was so energetic, electric, likable, you couldn’t help but root for him and Starr, even knowing what was to come. Even though Smith was only on screen for about five minutes or so, his performance was still one of the best in the movie.

As for the scene itself, from the moment Khalil is pulled over to the second he dies, every detail was perfect. There had to be a careful balance of Khalil’s cooperation with, and defiance of, the officer. If Khalil cooperates completely, acts as a model citizen, then the shooting is just a straight up murder. If he’s too argumentative, too combative, then it leans a little too far toward giving the officer the benefit of the doubt. But even though we see it play out in such a way to know the officer is at fault, Khalil did just enough to maybe have a small amount sympathy for the officer, to make you think maybe he was acting in the right. You quickly catch yourself, but the scene toes the line perfectly between the black-and-white and the gray area. As brutal as that scene is, and difficult as it is to watch it play out, it is one of the best scenes I’ve scene in a long time.

From there Starr begins to see her carefully crafted wall begin to crumble. Her identity as the lone witness is being kept under wraps for her safety, which is both a blessing and a curse. Khalil was working for local drug dealer King. If Starr talks, the connection between Khalil and King would likely be made known. That in turn would make Starr a threat to King, which would put Starr’s life in danger. But with this secrecy she is limited in who she can talk to about this. She has friends, and a boyfriend, Chris, at Williamson, but she can’t talk to them about her situation. Much of the rest of the movie details how this affects Starr and the decisions she makes as a result.

And what you get is one of the best, most important, most powerful films of the year, if not the last few years. I’d say much of that is owed to how deftly director George Tillman Jr conveyed a sense of hope and love in a story so firmly rooted in tragedy. It arrived at that destination so naturally; it didn’t feel forced at all. But Tillman Jr and screenwriter Audrey Wells weaved it into the natural progression of the movie. That sentiment flows in and out of the movie. It never feels like it’s dumped on you out of nowhere; it makes sense.

You can’t talk about the success of the film without discussing the performances. Amandla Stenberg shines in the lead role. I had only ever seen her in her brief role as Rue in The Hunger Games so I had no idea what kind of actress she was. But she delivers a powerhouse performance as Starr; it’s one of the best of the year up to this point. This could be the beginning of one of Hollywood’s next huge stars.

Russell Hornsby and Regina Hall also light up the screen as Starr’s parents, Maverick and Lisa. They bring such a strong layer of fierce love and emotion that is felt every time they’re on screen, every time they speak. And really, all the performances, with a couple minor exceptions, are great.

One of those exceptions it Anthony Mackie in his role and drug dealer King. But it has nothing to do with Mackie’s performance; he was great. Mackie is a fantastic actor. But he was just not given enough to do with this part. While King played a vital part in the story, his character wasn’t much more than “Generic Bad Guy.” His was a role any number of actors could have played effectively. If you go out and cast someone like Anthony Mackie, give him a meatier role. And King was someone who easily could have been given a more complex role, something that required more from the actor portraying him.

The other “weak link” was KJ Apa as Starr’s boyfriend Chris. Though to be fair, he was fine throughout most of the film. But there were a couple scenes where he just didn’t quite have it. I don’t believe it to be a script problem; I think he just wasn’t up to it as actor. He’s still young, only 21, so he has plenty of time to improve and expand his range. But his parts in those particular scenes came off as corny and, not ruined, but lessened their overall impact.

Then there is the narration. Over the course of the movie, Starr pops in here and there for some voice-overs. And I’m generally not a fan of narration in film. This time it worked better than most other movies. But in the end, I’m more of a “show don’t tell” kind of guy. That being said, in this case I could see where some would like and appreciate the narration.

But the “worst” part (and I say worst lightly as you see I still rated it a 92) was the 3rd act. The first 2/3 or so of the movie were nearly perfect. But the 3rd act drags on a bit. It got to a point where it felt like they were just going one-by-one down a checklist, crossing items off as they went. The result was an act that was a little jumpy, that didn’t flow together quite as well. They got it together for the last few scenes, but there was definitely room to make some cuts. It comes in with a run time of 2 hours 12 minutes, and if it could have been knocked down to even a clean 2 hours, we would be talking about a top 3-5 movie on the year.

In the end, perhaps its best quality is its simplicity. Even the aftermath at Williamson is extraordinarily simple. And I mean simple in the sense that Tillman Jr and Wells didn’t try to break the mold. Everything felt real and natural. They keep control over the movie’s tone; it never comes off as preachy. The story is allowed to speak for itself. It doesn’t take any in-depth analysis to see how the movie relates to our current climate. Tillman Jr. trusts the audience to make those connections, and he should because they’re not difficult to make.

Oscar hopes: Quite a bit

Best Picture
Best Director – George Tillman Jr
Lead Actress – Amandla Stenberg
Supporting Actor – Russell Hornsby
Supporting Actress – Regina Hall
Adapted Screenplay – Audrey Wells