WHAT’S IT ABOUT
Starr Carter is constantly switching between two worlds — the poor, mostly black neighborhood where she lives and the wealthy, mostly white prep school that she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is soon shattered when she witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend at the hands of a police officer. Facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr must find her voice and decide to stand up for what’s right.
MOVIESinMO REVIEW
This movie is awesome!! It speaks to ALL Black people (even if some of them don’t know it). The true reason this film is so relevant is that it’s told and seen through the eyes of a young millennial, Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg). She’s a high school student that has learned early how to act around different classes of people and by default, how not to be herself. As the story is told, you see an unfortunate realization within Starr’s family while sitting at the dinner table. It’s something that’s mirrored in almost every “woke” Black family. Starr’s father, Maverick Carter (Russell Hornsby), gives her and her brothers “The Talk.” Not the one about sex (that’s usually a White thing), the one about being Black in America. I know for a fact, it’s something White people have never heard about, much less seen. After the very informative diner, Starr narrates and explains her situation. Her school life, her home life, and her friends. You get to see and hopefully understand how detrimental life can be when your options are limited. Once Starr’s friend, Khalil (Algee Smith), gets shot by a White officer during the standard DWB (Driving While Black) excuse, everything her father told her as a child comes to the forefront. Although the issue of police shooting affects all of us, as a Black man, I can only speak for my people and situation. Everyone deals with loss differently but doing nothing, solves nothing and only appeases the oppressors. Throughout the film, Starr is faced with some very hard choices as life hits her and forces her to deal with the consequences that come from speaking up for herself and those she love. She receives threats from all angles. The dealers, the cops, the media, and her family all add to her threat and stress levels. As the film moves on, we see Starr’s rapid development from a racially conscious teen to a radically outspoken young adult. She and her family are what America made. The Carter family is representative of every oppressed family of color in this country and a serious reminder of what will happen if you allow it to. The Hate U Give is a film that NEEDS to be seen by EVERYONE. We need to continue the conversation to end the miscommunication and violence.
OUR RATING – A STILL RELEVANT 9.5
DVD/BLU-RAY/DIGITAL
- Genre – Drama
- Street date
- Digital – January 8th 2018
- DVD/Blu-Ray – January 22nd 2019
- Video – 1080p
- Screen size – 2.39:1
- Sound – English 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English AD 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Canadian French 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Subtitles – English SHD, French, Spanish
Extras
- Maverick and Seven Protecting Their Home
- Uprising
- Seven’s Graduation
- Featurettes:
- Starting a Conversation
- The Talk
- Code Switching
- The Heart of Georgia
- Thank U Georgia
- Starr: Shine Your Light