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Gang

The Hate U Give – Discovering a Self and a Voice

January 22, 2019 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

In Hamlet, Polonius tells his son Laertes, “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as day the night, thou canst not be false to any man.” In The Hate U Give, a young African-American girl must struggle not just with being true to herself, but with which of her personae is her true self.

Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg) lives in two worlds. Her parents, Maverick (Russell Hornsby) and Lisa (Regina Hall), have opted to live in Garden Heights, a working-class black neighborhood, even though they could afford to live in a more upscale area. Mav and Lisa are from Garden Heights and want to be part of the community there. In Garden Heights, Starr Version One fits in perfectly. She speaks the slang and wears the right shoes. She knows the people there. They are her people.

Amandla Stenberg stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE HATE U GIVE. Photo Credit: Erika Doss.

But Mav and Lisa want more for Starr and her brothers, Seven (Lamar Johnson) and Sekani (TJ Wright), so they send them to a predominantly white prep school across town. At school, Starr Version Two also fits in. She leaves the slang behind. (Her friends use it to sound cool; she would just sound “hood.”) Her best friends at school, including her boyfriend, are all white. Every day she goes back and forth between these worlds, but she is two very different people in each.

L-R: Megan Lawless, Amandla Stenberg, and Sabrina Carpenter in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE HATE U GIVE. Photo Credit: Erika Doss.

When she goes to a party in the Heights one night, a fight breaks out and her childhood friend Khalil helps her escape the violence as they drive off in his car. When Khalil is pulled over by a police officer, the traffic stop escalates into a confrontation that ends up with Khalil being shot and killed. Starr is the only witness. How that role plays out in her two separate worlds forces her to come to grips with who she is and how she must act.

Starr struggles under the weight of her responsibility. Many want her to testify against the officer to bring justice for Khalil’s death. But there are others who want her to stay silent, including King (Anthony Mackie), head of the neighborhood gang (to which Mav once belonged). King does not want anything to come out about Khalil dealing drugs for him. At school, Starr doesn’t want it known that she is the witness because of what her friends might think. She also encounters those there who side with the police officer, assuming nothing was wrong with the killing.

Amandla Stenberg and Algee Smith in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE HATE U GIVE. Photo Credit: Erika Doss.

How can Starr be true to herself (and her family, her friendship with Khalil, her community, and the concept of justice) when she has not yet learned who she really is?

Identity is a key concept in this film. Starr and her brothers have names that their parents gave to them for specific reasons that reflect who they are to become. The film also shows how shoes can be a part of one’s identity. What shoes someone wears may speak loudly to those around them. It may seem like a minor bit of life, but within the context of the film, one is what one wears. For Starr, her growing sense of justice and seeking her voice means she must come to terms with all the ways her identity has been fragmented. It is of note that in the voice over we hear of Starr’s testimony to the grand jury, we do not hear about what happened but about who Khalil was to her. To share Khalil’s identity is key for her.

The film opens with Mav and Lisa giving “The Talk” to nine year old Starr and her brothers. They try to explain the injustice they will inevitably encounter. They teach them how to behave when stopped by police in hopes of staying alive. Then Mav gives them the Black Panthers’ Ten Point Plan and demands that they memorize it. “Know your rights. Know your worth”, he tells them. There is something bordering on the sacred in these moments. To be sure, it lays out a very scary reality, but it is also clearly an act of love and nurture.

Amandla Stenberg stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE HATE U GIVE. Photo Credit: Erika Doss.

That tone of near sacredness recurs often throughout the film, often in small ways, such as when Starr looks through her box of childhood memories, and at time in more profound ways, as when Starr addresses the crowd at a protest. It is a reminder of the many times in lives that we encounter the sacred, not because we are looking for the presence of God, but because the divine in always close at hand.

It would be an oversimplification to call this a Black Lives Matter film, although it most certainly fits that description. But it is also a far deeper examination of not only African-American identity, but of the importance of finding oneself in order to know one’s place in the world and how that fulfills what one is meant to do with their life. Starr has been shaped by many competing forces including the systemic racism of society. In this film she begins to come into her own—to find her voice and her future.

Available now on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD, the film comes with several special features: “Maverick and Seven Protecting Their Home,” “Uprising,” “Seven’s Graduation” extended scenes; “Starr: Shine Your Light,” “Starting a Conversation,” “The Talk,” “Code Switching,” “The Heart of Georgia,” and “Thank U Georgia” featurettes; “and audio commentary with director Tillman with select cast and crew.

Photos courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Amandla Stenberg, Anthony Mackie, Black Lives Matter, coming-of-age, driving while black, Gang, police, race, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, The Hate U Give, The Talk

TIFF17: 1%

September 19, 2017 by Julie Levac Leave a Comment

Set in a world of motorcycle gangs, violence and crime, 1% brings us a character driven tale of loyalty, family, betrayal, and personal struggle.  This unconventional crime genre film never actually shows us the criminal activity the Copperheads Motorcycle Club is involved in, though we know that they are raking in a profit that must be concealed.  Taking notes from numerous Shakespearean tragedies, this drama is both shocking, destructive, and fateful.

Through its use of cinematography, director Stephen McCallum gives us a unique perspective by allowing the camera to act as another person in the room.  Moving unconventionally, the camera is not always steady and, as a result, give us a more documentary-like feel.

Although this is a character driven film, we don’t always get a complete background on certain characters, which adds an element of mystery to a cast of multi-dimensional characters.  It’s almost as if the writer (Matt Nable) is trying to teach us a different existential lesson with each individual character.

Featured image for 1%
Knuck (Matt Nable) is the quintessential motorcycle club president. He is an angry, violent, and gritty character who takes no non-sense from anyone. Knuck feels as though his authority has been threatened during his absence in jail.  While also dealing with the new struggle with his sexuality, his conflicting emotions manifest themselves in a violent manner. Knuck shows us the difficulty and even shame and embarrassment that can come along with hiding a part of yourself and not feeling as though you will be accepted in your social circle.

Featured image for 1%
Paddo (Ryan Corr) has a deep and violent past and is largely involved in Copperheads as vice president. However, we also see an extremely loving side of him in his relationship with his girlfriend, Katrina (Abbey Lee), and his brother, Skink (Josh McConville), who is another member of Copperheads and has a developmental delay. Paddo lives to take care of the people he loves most. He poses the question of ‘how far are you willing to go to save your family’?

During Knuck’s stay in prison, Paddo steps in as acting president of Copperheads and attempts to take the club in a different direction, causing tension upon Knuck’s return. Paddo and Katrina both play an intricate game of chess in their desire to control the club and how they should handle Knuck’s return and ultimate disinterest in their plan. Katrina, specifically, is always striving to secure her stake in the club. She is always looking forward and ensuring that every move she makes (or Paddo makes) will take them one step closer to their end goal.

Featured image for 1%
Katrina, as well as Knuck’s wife, Hayley (Simone Kessell), are both very strong female characters that are almost the brains behind their boys. In a male dominated club, these females could easily have been lost in the story. Instead, there was significant intention behind the placement of these women, and a spotlight placed on them.

This film, although unconventional in its genre, is very smart and intentional. Writer, Matt Nable, and director, Stephen McCallum, knew what they wanted to say and executed it well. A cast of incredible actors rounded out this vision.

My recommendation for this movie is not to go into it with a violent action movie mindset. Be prepared to think, absorb, and be driven by the complex emotional turmoil.

 

To stream audio of my interview with Ryan Cord and Abbey Lee, click here.

To stream audio of my interview with Matt Nable and Stephen McCallum, click here.

Filed Under: Film, Premieres, Reviews, TIFF Tagged With: 1%, Abbey Lee, Crime, Gang, Josh McConville, Matt Nable, Ryan Corr, Shakespearean, Simone Kessell, Stephen McCallum, TIFF, Tragedy, violence

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