Read Ashley B's review of The Hate U Give.
Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds: the poor, mostly black, neighborhood where she lives and the rich, mostly white, prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Now, facing pressures from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and stand up for what's right. THE HATE U GIVE is based on the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller by Angie Thomas and stars Amandla Stenberg as Starr, with Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Issa Rae, KJ Apa, Algee Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Common and Anthony Mackie.
The Hate U Give is in select theaters on October 5th, 2018.
The Hate U Give tells the story of Starr Carter, a 16-year-old black girl balancing living in the predominantly black and lower class city of Garden Heights while attending private school in a rich and mostly white area. One night her two separate worlds are shattered when she witnessed her childhood friend Khalil being shot and killed by a police officer. Starr is faced with unforeseen pressure from everyone to either speak up and use her voice or hide from fear of her two worlds colliding.
This movie packs in a lot of emotions within its duration. Given the current social climate, it’s realistic plot focused on something that I feel that a lot of people need to see even though it’s seen far too often in the real world.
This movie is emotional and heart wrenching. Everything happens so quickly and the pace never slows from there. It has heart dropping, hopeful, funny and full out angry moments. This made everything seem even more realistic as there are lessons to be learned from it reaching a line so close to reality. There were many times when the audience around me were vocal about their emotions and I think this came from everything being so close to turning on the news at home.
The cast they picked for the Hate I Give were well chosen and do a great job at bringing the book to life. With such a well known cast including Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Common, Issa Rae and Anthony Mackie, it proved that they all pack the talent to bring a powerful movie to exist. Their acting along with the new faces in this movie brought me to tears several times because of how conveying they were in bringing their individual characters to life.
The plot does differ from the book but that’s typical for movies. Despite this, the message isn’t lost and I was pleased with how well the movie still came together.
As the social climate continues to reach a tormenting level, movies like these are so important. There is a message that I believe all can benefit from and can teach viewers of all ages of how important their voice is on any scale.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Ashley (Contributing Editor) is an Orlando native who loves watching movies. Her favorite genres include comedies, thrillers and sci-fi.Click Here to check out Ashley's Articles.