Upon exiting the theater, I initially thought that The Hate U Give was perhaps too blunt for its own good, utilizing too broad a stroke on several hot topics to really make an effective statement on the black American experience. However, as I thought about it, I was reminded that the book of the same name by Angie Thomas that it’s adapting for the screen was always geared towards a young adult audience. And with that context, the film is far more radical than one would have expected.
Directed by George Tillman Jr., and written by the late Audrey Wells, the film is about a girl named Starr (Amandla Stenberg). She lives a double life in a manner of speaking. She lives in an all-black suburb, but attends a private, mostly-white and upper class high school, so she often has to change her style, her diction, and presentation depending on where she is, and who she is with.
One night after attending a party, she is being driven home by a childhood friend, Khalil (Algee Smith). The night takes a turn when their car gets pulled over by a police officer, who ends up shooting Khalil dead after mistaking a hairbrush for a weapon. Being the sole witness of the murder, Starr is forced into a position where she has to decide whether or not to come forward as the murder sparks protest in the city.
The film is quick to show it means business, opening with “the talk” between Starr’s father, Maverick (Russell Hornsby) and the kids when they are young. It’s not the kind of talk you’d expect, though. It’s him discussing the various steps they should take if they were ever confronted by a police officer, keep hands where they can see, swiftly answer their questions, don’t do anything that can be deemed suspicious, etc. This isn’t subtle, but it’s truthful, which reflects the way the film handles its ideas moving forward. The real victims of police brutality in recent memory are brought up, and the film isn’t afraid to make direct parallels to the story being told here. Like I said, the film has no intention of understating its message, but it uses history and imagery of present day struggles of the African-American community to great effect.
In the center of all the chaos that ensues is a charismatic performance from Stenberg, who we see all the events through. She has a way of building this tension within herself as things escalate, and it feels genuine and grounded. You feel her rage, her pain, and at a precious few moments, her catharsis. She’s also surrounded by equally great actors. Hornsby impresses as the well meaning father with a complicated past, Regina Hall is wonderful as Starr’s mother. Common brings some nuance to the slightly underwritten Carlos, Starr’s uncle, who is also a police officer, caught between the needs of the uniform with the needs of the community. And you also have the likes of Anthony Mackie, KJ Apa, Issa Rae, Lamar Johnson, and Dominique Fishback making the most out of smaller, supporting roles.
If there is any issue with the film, it’s really just the fact that it bites off a bit more than it could chew. It’s like the end-all-be-all for providing insight into the black experience that wants to not only talk about police brutality, but also gang violence, code-switching, false allyship in seemingly liberal circles, among a few others. The film does manage to handle a number of these in a good balance, but the gang element is easily the aspect of the film that stands out the most, in terms of not feeling as thorough or as nuanced as it might’ve hoped. Mackie plays the leader of a gang that runs in Starr’s neighborhood, and not only did her father used to run for him, but Khalil is a dealer for him, which causes further complications with her coming forward as a witness. It feels like something that could be interesting, but it’s not really given enough time to flesh out Mackie’s character, so he comes across less three-dimensional. Another thing that could be seen as a problem is the fact that – as good as Stenberg is – she is noticeably lighter skinned than the rest of the family. There’s a discussion to be had about colorism in Hollywood, but I’ll leave that to folks who are more qualified to talk about it than me.
The Hate U Give feels like one of those movies they would play in schools when nothing else is planned for the day, but I sincerely mean that in the best way possible. As just a movie, it feels like a lot of preaching to the choir, and given the nature of the subject matter, it doesn’t have the most satisfying conclusion. However, this is a film that is designed to speak to a younger audience, and its unanswered questions are made to start discussions around stuff like police brutality, racism, and political activism on their terms. On that level, I think the film is a success, and its effectiveness at presenting these themes in accessible and emotionally powerful ways without watering them down is something that should be applauded.