The Hate U Give

(spoiler free)

Based on Angie Thomas’ best-selling novel ‘The Hate U Give’ is a young adult drama which follows teenager Starr Cater (Amandla Stenberg). She balances her home life in the suburb all-black district of Garden Heights and her academic life in which she attends Williamson private school. However, after a traumatic incident occurs she struggles to keep her two worlds separate and gets drawn into something much bigger than she could ever have imagined.

To date leading lady Amandla Stenberg has almost solely found herself starring in young adult novel adaptations. It is unfortunate that most of these have been unremarkable in themselves and as a result her performances have failed to overcome the mediocre material these adaptations offer. Thankfully ‘The Hate U Give’ is the long overdue exception to this pattern that was beginning to emerge. Stenberg plays the main character Starr, a likeable, loving and sensible young woman who goes through some serious stuff in and around the story we see in the film, more than most of us will experience in our whole lives. Stenberg delivers a career best performance tackling this complex and substantial role with maturity demonstrating her ability as an actress. She effortlessly delivers the emotion required for her character and has a fantastic chemistry with the rest of her cast. It’s a star studded affair with the likes of Regina Hall, Common and Anthony Mackie all co-staring and performing well but it’s Stenberg that audiences will remember long after the credits have rolled.

Whilst this is a young adult adaptation it actually deals with the maturest of themes, including racism in a contemporary culture. The writer, Audrey Wells delivers a powerful, relevant and very emotional screenplay. This is a family drama, a political piece and a coming of age story all rolled into one. There’s a lot going on and despite the films length, it’s over two hours long, it’s paced excellently and in a way that you’ll never feel like it’s outstaying its welcome. Thomas clearly had a lot to say in her original novel and the film version is no different, never being subtle making sure everyone hears what it has to say. The screenplay is deeply affecting, it continuously hits you with emotional punch after punch which will surely drive some to their breaking point but always hammering home it’s vital message. In addition to this it thoughtfully gives insight into all groups and individuals involved in the story, exploring why they think or act in the way they do, whether this be the right or wrong. This approach leaves the finished product feeling well rounded and considerate. Whilst the story is strong throughout the ending does feel somewhat naive considering what has come before it. However, it’s a hopeful conclusion that gives audiences something to strive for and does feel appropriate for the young adult audience. 

Still a teenager herself, Amandla Stenberg deserves so much praise for fronting a film of such magnitude so early on in her career. She’s superb in the leading role and is instrumental in delivering the emotion and power of this picture. ‘The Hate U Give’ is a wonderful example of that power film can hold when stories are told the right way. The combination of source material, adapted screenwriting, cast performances and direction has resulted in a gripping and involved, relevant piece of film-making brilliantly made accessible for a large audience, and the more people who see this film the better.

Written by Hamish Calvert

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Rating – 9/10

Question: What’s your favourite film which deals with racism as a main theme?
(Leave your answers in the comments section below!)

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  Thanks to Movie House Cinemas for screening access