Harriet Review - IGN

Marie Buchanon (Janelle Monae) comforts Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo) after she returns to Maryland for her husband John (Zackary Momoh), only to discover he has remarried after her escape to freedom. “What’s a man to a woman touched by God?” Marie points out, a statement that’s appropriate to a woman whose faith guided her in her riskiest journeys. In Harriet, co-written and directed by Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, Talk to Me), we follow the Underground Railroad’s most famous conductor. Despite its standout performances, the film suffers from a formulaic delivery.The story begins in 1849 in Bucktown, Maryland, where Araminta “Minty” (née Ross) Tubman is still enslaved while her husband John is a free man. When the son of her owner puts up ads to sell her, she escapes without John. She successfully makes it 100 miles to Philadelphia and meets William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.), an abolitionist who introduces her the Underground Railroad - a network of safehouses and allies to leverage for the journey to free states. Assuming the new free name Harriet, Tubman becomes a conductor for the network, freeing over 70 enslaved people (including her friends and family.)

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Cynthia Erivo has been a scene-stealer in her recent pivot from Broadway to films - from her turn in Bad Times at the El Royale to her small but effective performance in Widows. As Tubman, Erivo delivers a standout performance, poignantly exploring Tubman’s conviction, fear, and faith on screen.

There’s been valid criticism about Erivo’s casting choice leading up to the release - due to her past comments on social media about black Americans. From a technical standpoint, Erivo commands the screen, but whether or not it soothes the sting of her prior opinions is up for discussion.

The cinematography of Harriet has its moments. John Toll’s experience on films like Legends of the Fall and The Thin Red Line works well in this historical realm. One of the best scenes is a vignette of Tubman’s various night missions through the Underground Railroad.

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Shot as a part-heist, part-thriller, we see how covertly Tubman moves at night, often wearing a costume to hide her appearance. It’s scenes like these that reinforce how risky every mission was, especially at a time when “Moses” (Tubman’s alias) was the most hunted person in the South.

Sadly, those thrilling scenes are few and far between, as the film instead focuses on clunky dialogue written by Lemmons and Gregory Allen Howard. Howard is also the screenwriter for 2000’s Remember The Titans, which makes sense when you reflect on the dialogue for Harriet since both films rely upon grandiose speeches designed to inspire their audience, but often feel lackluster in execution. It’s this overreliance on words and not action, paired with a dragging second half, that leaves the film feeling predictable.

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October 30, 2019 at 04:01AM
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Harriet Review - IGN
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