The Hate U Give movie review

Augmenting what YA properties are able to achieve, The Hate U Give is a palatable entry point for discussion in audiences of all ages and backgrounds.

It is an unfortunate state of things that The Hate U Give, a film about the repercussions of a senseless shooting of a 17 year old black boy, which is also based on a 2017 novel, feels as current as it is. That being said, cinema still holds the power to send a message that brings important social issues into homes with believable context and emotional storytelling. The Hate U Give is in possession of all those traits, expanding the horizons for YA adaptations everywhere.

Starr Carter’s (Amandla Stenberg) life constantly pivots between two worlds. During the week she alternates from being a well-spoken wallflower at her mostly white high school, to a typical teenager in a poor, mostly black neighborhood. Her shaky tightrope walk between these two personas comes tumbling down when she witnesses her childhood best friend Khalil (Algee Smith) get gunned down by a police officer. Facing pressure from all sides of the community, Starr has to search within herself to discover her voice and decide to speak out for what’s right.

Even if you are entirely unaware of the source material, if you have been following the news for any given amount of time, the story The Hate U Give has to tell will feel all too familiar. The adaptation is an affecting representation of the sudden shock, grief, and infuriation that comes with a tragedy such as this. But in between these emotional outbursts, moments of passion that are often pillars in the structure of stories like these, The Hate U Give delves into the everyday ramifications that accompany both a cruel injustice and the loss of someone you may have cared about. Bigger picture issues are dealt with, and they are more often than not met with moving, sometimes nerve-wracking, acts of defiance towards a system that has failed its characters. But even more identifiable are the strains a corrupt infrastructure may take on those trying to make a real difference, having to work within a system to get their point across without pushing so hard that they can be misidentified. Regardless, the harder they push, the closer they will be to discovering the truth about the way things work. This includes the upsetting pattern of racial profiling by even the most well-meaning policeman, or weeding out those in life who believe in something for as long as it benefits them personally.

Charting these tumultuous waters as Starr Carter is Amandla Stenberg, who is positively sensational in the multi-layered role. No stranger to YA adaptations, having previously played parts in The Hunger Games, Everything, Everything, and The Darkest Minds, Stenberg’s latest performance will have audiences seeing her in a whole new light. Starr’s development from wise but self-effacing follower to prideful activist is seamless and riveting, with Stenberg making every step of the journey feel like a natural progression in the transformation. It’s a path filled with righteous anger and good intentions, but the real key in Stenberg’s work is finding enough love within her character’s actions to ensure that her contributions remain pure in motive and impact, otherwise all she would be doing is adding to the same cycle that has done her wrong.

While structurally sound and worthy of its 2 hour 13 minute runtime, The Hate U Give does take a bit to find its way. The introductory sequences establish a weak narration element that is almost nowhere to be seen for the remainder of the story. It’s almost as if the storytellers didn’t trust the audience to pick up basic relationship set up, and the saddest part of it all is that the whole device could have been scrapped and the storytelling would have actually been stronger for it. And, while not exactly a deterrent to the story’s momentum, a through line involving Starr’s boyfriend, Chris, is pretty irrelevant. He, as well as some harshly lit scenes at their high school, lends some necessary points-of-view to Starr’s growth. But their relationship is not exactly something you’re looking forward to seeing when it’s off screen, and it comes to a head in an out-of-place “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” sequence that doesn’t really add anything to the grand scale of the narrative.

But if George Tillman Jr’s adaptation shows anything, it is gravitas within the YA realm. The Hate U Give proves that these types of movies do not need metaphors of dystopian futures to get their message across. Film series’ of its kind will deal with tyrannical governments and unjust social structures, but few have taken that to mean our world specifically. The Hate U Give can be a gateway into an important conversation for moviegoers of all shapes and sizes, and it may open up a world of opportunities for the genre.

I Give The Hate U Give an A-.