Kasi Lemmons assembles a superb ensemble cast, led by Cynthia Erivo as the titular Harriet Tubman, in this excellently-crafted period drama cum real-life-superhero movie making waves, and rightly so, on the film festival circuit in the lead-up to awards season.
Credit: Glen Wilson / Focus Features.
It is shocking, and baffling that the story of Harriet Tubman is largely unknown, particularly outside of the United States. It is even more unbelievable that a film based on her remarkable achievements hasn’t made it to the big screen before either, some 150 years on.
Erivo, when we see her for the first time on-screen is Minty – full name Araminta Ross, a ’24 or 25-year-old’ living on a slave plantation in mid-1800s Maryland. She is married to a free man, but in the opening scenes, she is seen petitioning her ‘owner’ with a plea to be released with him. After this is declined Minty, who is very close to god and has seemingly a sense of premonition with her prayers, she has an unfortuitous run-in with her master’s son, the vile Gideon (Joe Alwyn) who almost immediately puts her up for sale. This event forces Minty to escape and attempt to make the 100-mile, very treacherous journey north to Philadelphia, and to freedom, leaving her loved ones, including her mother, father, siblings, and her beloved husband, behind.
In Philadelphia, Minty finds a new life, and a new name, Harriet Tubman, and eventual paid employment at local hotel owner Marie’s (Janelle Monáe) place of room and board. With premonitions of her family being in danger in the place down south she left behind, and after being deflected by local anti-slavery campaigners, Harriet returns to her former back to Maryland to liberate her family – just one of many missions into her former homeland which sees her being branded ‘Moses The Slave Stealer’ and starting her journey into becoming one of the most notable figures in American history.
Harriet is a truly informative, utterly engrossing movie, one that is both timely and deserved of any future golden-statued attention it receives. Its biggest asset is the wonderful Erivo, absolutely flawless in the role of Tubman – an absolute joy to watch; an emotionally-charged, strong performance and an excellent debut as a feature lead following great turns in the likes of last year’s Widows and Bad Times At The El Royale.
She’s backed by wonderful support -particularly Alwyn as the cruel villain Gideon, Leslie Odom Jr. as freedom fighter William Still, and a wonderful Clarke Peters as Minty’s father Ben Ross.
Upon its debut at TIFF just last month, the film was labelled as a little formulaic. I didn’t get the same impression at all. While there are some over-stated beats – the music, for one, is a little over the top and invasive in places – the film largely hits all of the right notes throughout, and is both informative, engrossing, devastating and one with a story that needed to be told, and told well. And that it is.
Harriet will be released in cinemas in November.
