“The Hate U Give,” based on the 2017 book of the same name, is a film that’s difficult to introduce. Make no mistake, this is not a comment on the film’s quality. How does one craft a light intro paragraph to a film that tackles such difficult subjects with such grace? Like the job of adapting the widely praised and widely banned young adult novel to the screen, it seems almost impossible. But then you realize that it just happened.
Its important to note up front that while “Hate” may be a film that contains quite a bit of tension and dread, there’s a masterful tonal balance at play here. Director George Tillman Jr. (“Notorious,” “Soul Food”) and writer Audrey Wells (“The Game Plan,” “A Dog’s Purpose”) both keep a tight grip on this balancing act to make sure nothing ever comes off as disingenuous or melodramatic.
The crew can only do so much though, and luckily they have some great talent backing them up. The supporting cast is full of excellent performances all around, with only one really standing out as mediocre. Regina Hall (“Girls Trip,” “Ally McBeal”) is a wonderful mother figure, and Russell Hornsby (“Grimm,” “Fences (2017)”) completely steals every scene he’s in. Despite only appearing briefly, Algee Smith (“Earth to Echo,” “Detroit”) has to nail his performance, as the rest of the film more or less hinges on his character.
He nails it, as does Lamar Johnson (“Kings (2017),” “The Next Step”) as the young brother Seven. KJ Apa (“Riverdale,” “A Dog’s Purpose”), who only received his role as Starr’s boyfriend after the Youtuber Kian Lawley had been recast after racist videos resurfaced online, impresses, especially given how well he gels with the rest of the cast given the reshoots. Anthony Mackie, in one of his few non-Marvel roles, plays drug lord King, and delivers his performance with the right balance of quiet menace and impending power.
A handful of performances define this film though. Getting the most mediocre out of the way, Sabrina Carpenter (“Horns,” “Girl Meets World”) seems to be completely phoning it in as Starr’s prep school privileged friend. She isn’t compelling in the slightest, turning what could have been a compelling subplot into the film’s weakest link. However, that’s where the performance troubles end, because Amandla Stenberg (“The Hunger Games,” “Everything Everything”), who plays the lead Starr Carter, delivers a performance that is easily one of the best of the year.
She has a stoic and intelligence to herself that melts away to show the broken vulnerability of someone put in her situation. Even as the film’s events spiral out of control in the last 35-40 minutes, she never looses her handle on Starr’s character and moral compass, creating an emotionally sound and truly brave heroine.
Common’s (“John Wick Chapter 2,” “Selma”) role as her cop uncle is also worth commending. Like “Smallfoot” just a few weeks ago, he plays a character whose moral compass is sound according to himself, but not to some of the other characters. His distinct voice and solemn tone, along with the film’s screenplay, help to avoid demonizing him, instead creating a layered and complex character with a difficult situation at hand.
At two hours and ten minutes, “Hate” is a long movie. Its deliberate pacing doesn’t make it feel any shorter, and neither does the subject material. However, its in the smaller moments where Tillman allows the audience a chance to breath, without ever truly letting them forget about the intensity of Starr’s dilemma. Its effective because it truly puts audiences in her headspace. If she has to go around as if everything is normal, with this weight in the back of her mind, why shouldn’t the audience?
Everything comes to a head in the aforementioned last 35-40 minutes. Tensions boil over to deliver a third act crescendo that is impactful and delivers the tense finale Tillman and Wells are clearly building to. And its in these last moments that the real message of the film is revealed. No spoilers here, but the payoff delivered by subverting the THUG LIFE mantra the film repeats so often is incredibly powerful, and instantly tear-jerking.
It feels wrong to harp on such a small thing, but the low effort from Carpenter and the cheesy nature of her subplot really do hurt the film as whole. Because every event in the plot is tightly woven, with everything affecting something else in some way, it’s impossible to separate a simply ineffective subplot from a stellar film. That’s not to say the message within is poorly executed. But when you hand a great script to an actor who phones it in, then it doesn’t matter how great the message or script is, because it’s been tainted.
Regardless, “The Hate U Give” has so much good in its heart and its celluloid. A powerful and at times subversive message is backed up by commanding performances across the board and an Oscar caliber performance from Amandla Stenberg. It’s a shame that its length and poorly executed subplot involving Sabrina Carpenter hold it back, but what remains is a film that is completely powerful and engrossing. What Tillman and Wells have given us is nothing short of spectacular. 4.5/5
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