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We often hear the complaint that there just aren’t enough strong female heroes in today’s movies. There are so many action movies and superhero movies, yet so few are female-led. But the heroes are out there; girls just have to see more movies like Harriet to find them.
Harriet follows the journey of Harriet Tubman (Cynthia Erivo), starting during her life as a slave in Maryland. After her master’s death, the threat of being sold and sent away from her family and her husband causes her to run away to the North. After traveling alone for 100 miles, she arrives in Philadelphia, where members of the Underground Railroad help her settle into her new life of freedom. But, believing that God is calling her to return to Maryland to free her family, she returns to the South and begins leading slaves to freedom.
More than just another quiet, chatty Award Season biopic, Harriet is the tense and even action-packed story of a real-life hero—a woman who wanted nothing more than freedom, who fought through hardship to get what she wanted, and who followed God’s call to help so many others. It’s the story of a terrible time in our history—a story that’s been told before, in many, many different ways. As a woman seated behind me said with a sigh before the screening started, “I just don’t feel like watching another slavery movie.” But director and co-writer Kasi Lemmons manages to put audiences into the story: racing with Harriet through the forest, fighting for breath, chased by men on horseback. Though the outcome is no surprise, the story is still gripping and suspenseful.
Of course, a two-hour film isn’t able to cover all of the details—which means that parts are edited or reworked or even fabricated to fit within the story that the film is trying to tell. But Lemmons uses her artistic license to show audiences the transformation from a quiet, timid, illiterate slave named Minty to a bold and confident woman named Harriet, who risked her own life to guide hundreds of slaves to freedom. The story and Erivo’s compelling performance work together to elevate the character into a kind of historical superhero—this strong, selfless woman whose actions changed so many lives. She may not be a Marvel hero, but sometimes she feels like she could be.
So yes, Harriet is a slavery movie. It’s a movie about atrocious historical events—played out by some totally stereotypical characters. But it’s also about a woman who overcame hardships and heartbreak—who fought her way out and then fought for other victims. And that makes it a pretty heroic biopic.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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