Harriet

Harriet is one of those movies that is hard to knock, since it's heart is in the right place, and the subject is someone so heroic. But, alas, it is not a great film, as it is far too formulaic and sentimental.

On the extras, one of the producers mentions that everyone in America has heard of Harriet Tubman but few know her story. That's true, and it is a shame that has taken this long for a feature film to be made about her (there was a TV film). The story goes that once a pitch was made and an executive suggested that Julia Roberts play Tubman, and when it was pointed out that would be egregiously unhistorical he replied that nobody remembers.

Well, Roberts does not play Tubman, but Cynthia Erivo does, and that is the best thing about Harriet. We follow her from a young woman, in slavery on a farm in Maryland, and married to a freeman. Some legal documents show that she was supposed to manumitted, but her owner denies this. She decides to escape, and guided by voices from God (she was hit in the head as a youngster and has spells) makes it to Philadelphia.

Not content, she goes back to get her husband, but thinking she was dead, he has married another. Instead she brings back a large group of her own family and friends. She would go on to rescue 70 slaves, via the Underground Railroad, not losing one of them.

It's a great story, but one can't help but wonder what is true in this movie and what isn't. I am no expert, but it didn't feel right. The most fanciful part, that she led black troops during the Civil War to free a plantation full of slaves, was actually true, but it only gets a minute or two of screen time. Instead we get a cliched narrative, such as the son of her owner (Joe Alwyn) playing the role of villain, and the two having a standoff at the end of the picture (it is not clear if he even existed in real life).

You'd have to have a stone heart, or be a Klansman, not to be moved by parts of this film, but there is way too much speechifying. There is no doubt of Tubman's greatness, and no doubt about Erivo's performance, but I wish the film wouldn't have taken so many easy paths. Directed by Kasi Lemmons in a by-the-number fashion, if it at least gets people reading about Tubman that's a good thing. One day, who knows when, she will be on the twenty dollar bill.