Movie Review: Harriet (2019)

Harriet (2019) co-written and directed by Kasi Lemmons

The story of Harriet Tubman is fascinating and exciting. She was born a slave on a Maryland farm in the early 1800s. She eventually fled north, winding up in Philadelphia where she joined the Underground Railroad. She went back south to free her husband, only to discover him remarried (he heard she died on her way north). Instead, she brings other family members north. She became a regular conductor on the Underground Railroad, bringing many slaves out of captivity. When slave hunting laws became more permissive, she took people all the way to Canada. After the American Civil War started, she became a spy for the Union and led a battle in South Carolina that freed 700 slaves. Her life was full of adventure and excitement.

The movie starts her life in slavery as Araminta Ross. She goes through a lot of hardship before she leaves the farm and adopts a new name as a free woman in Philadelphia. She has visions that help her to guide the runaways and inspire her to do her incredible work. Cynthia Erivo gives a fine performance as Tubman. Her character's religious convictions are shown in a positive light and her heroism is unquestioned. The chases are exciting, though the score is a little more than it needs to be in those scenes. The cinematography is fairly plain, which is fine because the focus is on the story and not on being stylish. I would have thought the vision sequences would be more stylized--they look like blue-tinted memories, there's nothing odd or surreal about them. Even so, the movie is thrilling and moving in just the right combination.

Highly recommended--Tubman is a great American and role model. She deserves more attention.