For some African American parents, having ‘the talk’ with your children doesn’t
mean telling them about the birds and the bees. It actually means instructing
them on how not to get killed when they interact with the police. This grim
reality forms the basis for the opening scene of The Hate U Give where we meet Starr Carter aged 9, siblings Seven and Sekani and parents Lisa and Maverick, who is delivering ‘the talk’
with an intensity that he carries throughout the film.
Fast forward 7 years and Starr and her siblings now attend the affluent, predominantly white private high school, Williamson Prep, a far cry from their home neighbourhood of Garden Heights. At school, Starr is code-switching - being a version of herself she calls 2.0; taking care not to act too ’ghetto’ lest she reinforce negative black stereotypes. All the while, her white school mates act and speak like they think they are in a hip-hop video, displaying subtle prejudice in their attempts to be ‘street’ - the irony of which is not lost on the audience. Back in Garden Heights, Starr is careful not to act too ‘white’ in case she alienates the friends she grew up with and when she runs into her childhood friend Khalil at a party, the code-switching burden is weighing very heavily on her shoulders.
On the way home, Starr and Khalil get pulled over
by the police and in a raw and truly gut-wrenching scene, Khalil is fatally
shot. Thus begins Starr’s nightmare where not only is she traumatised by Khalil’s
death but she also has to decide whether to stand up for him and testify about
the police shooting, thus revealing her identity. All the while she is being targeted
by neighbourhood drug lord and gang leader King who has his own reasons for not
wanting her to speak up. Soon the carefully constructed walls between her two
worlds begin to crumble as events spiral out of her control. Based on the
powerful book by Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give paints a
riveting picture of community and race relations, civil rights, police
brutality, gang violence, social activism, and the complicated family relationships people are dealing with in America today. Amandla Stenberg lives up to her name
(meaning ‘power’ in Zulu and Xhosa) with an intensely moving and powerful performance as Starr. Russell Hornsby is excellent as her father Maverick, a firm believer in the tenets of black
power, espoused by civil rights group The
Black Panthers. The highly charismatic Algee Smith makes a big
impact as Khalil in his short time on screen and Issa Rae's performance as
Attorney April Ofrah, who is instrumental in awakening Starr's activism, is
impeccably pitched. Rapper and actor Common is perfectly cast as
Starr’s Uncle Carlos, a policeman in the same department as the cop who killed
Khalil. Carlos’ tense relationship with Starr’s father is rooted in his role as a father figure to Starr while Maverick was in prison and Maverick's resentment of this. In a beautifully realised scene, Carlos tries to explain to Starr the police point of view when carrying out a stop and search. I felt that this was a good counterpoint to the largely negative portrayal of the police up to that point. However, I do have a few minor niggles with the film, such as the reduction in acting quality during the high school scenes and Anthony Mackie’s casting as King.
While Mackie imbued King with suitably amoral menace, physically he didn’t fit the picture in my head of the vile and gross
individual that King is in the book. I suppose this is one of the pitfalls
of reading the book before watching the film, but I would still always advocate
doing this as it gives you a much deeper insight into the story. This is a really
thought provoking, timely and engaging film that could have ended up being
preachy and sentimental. Instead, a skilful adaption by the late screenwriter
Audrey Wells, deft direction by George Tillman Jr. and a dynamic soundtrack
(featuring Kendrick Lamar and Tupac) allow The Hate U Give to show
that ‘teen’ films can deliver as big a punch as their adult counterparts.
Mrs Osafo
Mrs Osafo
