The Hate U Give (2018)

Because I'm from the city of St. Louis where we have our share of race issues, particularly issues that involve police, I really connected with the subject matter. It's a story worth telling, though I felt it was a bit over-written and more complex than it needed to be. But my biggest problem was that the presentation was too heavy-handed. Even though this movie unbiasedly explored the perspectives of everyone involved, it left no room for the viewers to form their own opinions. We were spoon fed, and at times it had the feel of an after school special. From the writing, to the performances, to the music, everything was very literal. There was no subtext or anything to read into. Maybe the filmmakers accomplished exactly what they were going for. The overall style was consistent throughout and it seemed that the artists behind this mostly hit their mark. For my money, however, I prefer an approach that is more challenging. But 6 out of 10 is still a passing grade. This is a subject that needed to be acknowledged on screen and I do feel that it was handled with respect and fairness.

Fmovies: Maybe i expected too much out of this movie, the movie had good premise, i heard the book was good too.

Either way, the premise of the story was indeed quite intriguing, i felt like the objective, to represent black people's (and other oppressed groups of people, as the movie puts it) was in no way offensive, and instead very insightful. but i also felt like they gave certain bad examples on the behavious on what the 'oppressed people' should do to white people. i mean i get that mayhaps white privilege is real, but instead of having an actual conversation to explain the situation, the protagonist just rants on an on about it. (The mindset is basically, if u are ignorant from the start then i do not want to be near you whatsoever. no conversation to justify exactly the things that 'her people' are doing in a calm and open-minded manner). btw this is coming from a kid raised in a multi-racial family (Arab, indian, malay, chinese)

Despite the okay story and the misrepresentation on several aspects, i would've given this movie a 6 or 7 if only the editing didn't feel so cheap and choppy. they just put in generic music in most of the 'emotional' scenes, like legit no hesitation whatsoever, just put in as much music as possible. and most of the time the music provided just takes you away from the feel of the whole movie.

If you want to watch it, i wouldn't say it's a waste of time, as it may bring you a new perspective, but overall i felt like the movie itself is ruined by the music. I wouldn't see this as a movie worth re-watching though.

This movie does nothing but separating people from each other. White people are the enemy and it's all their fault. White cops are racists and that's just the way it is. There is so much wrong with that view. I don't deny that there are problems and there should be no place in this world for racism. But I feel like this is getting out of control. Imagine that they made a movie and they would display black people in the same way as they did now with white people. It would probably cause a scandal.

The only way to come together is to stop labeling color. We are all people.

The Hate U Give fmovies. As a white guy who's spent all of his life in England, it's hard for me to relate to most of the issues raised in this movie. However I feel the actors did a fantastic job of helping me see from the characters perspective, in what is undoubtedly tricky subject matter.

I found Russell Hornsby's portrayal of a father who's lead a colourful life, leaving it behind to concentrate on raising his children in what he sees as the right way, particularly compelling.

Amandla Stenberg was fantastic in the lead role. A teenager struggling to deal with the loss of a friend, and the injustice that follows. The feeling of barely contained rage was palpable in some scenes.

There is strong theme of societal injustice throughout the movie. The blame isn't placed squarely at the door of "white America" as some have suggested. The film doesn't shy away from gang & drug problems that plague communities across America & the wider world.

I feel like its a shame, that one of the few scenes that detract from my overall enjoyment of this movie, was the films most pivotal scene. I felt no real sense of injustice attached to this. If I was pulled over by a cop in the US, I'm doing exactly what he/she tells me. Instead the character Khalil (Algee Smith) decides it's the right time to have some fun with his friend Starr (Stenberg). This leads to his death, and while racial profiling certainly had a part to play in the incident, the actions of Khalil ultimately were what lead to his demise. Perhaps the way I view this scene says more about my place in society, or society as a whole, but it's hard for me to see it any other way. It's interesting that later in the film, a scene between Starr & her uncle Carlos (portrayed by Common) gives us some insight into what would have been going through the cops head as he carried out the traffic stop.

Overall I thought it was a good movie with some emotional & tense scenes, acted very well & is definitely one to watch.

To summarise this film I would say that it builds slowly and leads into nothing much. There are some powerful scenes in this film where I felt genuinely moved and concerned for the characters in the film but as a whole I found this film to be very stereotypical and misleading.

Firstly, the way that the police are portrayed in this film suggest that every police officer is a Brutal racist with 0 empathy or compassion. I found it very distasteful on how it never showed the otherside of how these situations affect the police officer that is involved in a case like this. When this is brought up by a young white girl, she is seen to be the bad guy for suggesting that the cop and his family are also going through hell because of the shooting of the young black man.

Another negative was how the entire film was about how black people matter and there lives matter but never about equality. Slight spoiler here. There is a scene where the young black girl that is the main character brings her boyfriend back to meet her father. The father proceeds to be rude and disrespectful to the young white boy for no other reason than because of his race. If this isn't racism then I don't know what is. This completely tantes anything the father says because we know that a small part of his motivations includes him being racist towards white people. This theme of misrepresenting white people was common throughout the film and I rather felt like I was watching a black lives matter propaganda film. Some parts genuinely infuriated me.

Also a shorter negative here was how the film seemed to drag moments out that could be made much shorter and to the point which would have gave the film more pace and punch in delivering its message to the audience.

Although there were many negatives I couldn't help but to become involved in the film and the characters. There were scenes that were moving. One of the final scenes where there is a riot on the street and starr (the main character) jumps up on the van and finally realised the power she has and finds her voice was very moving and made the hairs on my neck stand up. There were moments like this scattered through the film which is why I have rated this a 5 and not a 4.

The film also delivered some occasional funny moments and one moment where the whole cinema erupted in laughter, although, some of the 'funny' parts were just so cringeworthy it hurt my skin.

All in all this was a film that I will not see again due to its mediocreness and it's infuriating stereotyping.

I believe this film creates an opportunity to open the eyes of someone not privy to our perspective. Sometimes they have to see these issues play out in front of them. A story or speech may not reach deep enough to connect you to the heart of people who have suffered loss and live in a near impossible situation. If you just see it as a I HATE WHITES movie, you've missed the point. Dig deeper.

Do I have some criticisms, of course. Some scenarios are obvious slaves to plot progression. One argument could be that only 1-2 characters had a complete arc and that some questions were left unanswered. Well, I agree. That's art imitating life.

I believe the dialogue regarding the title of the film was clever and introspective that I haven't been able to get it out of my head. It also asks me to form MY OWN opinion of the phrase's meaning. So: Mission Accomplished.

I'd say the acting was pretty good. Not the biggest fan of the language but unfortunately I know I'm in the minority there. Every character performed. It was exciting to see Anthony Mackie in this role. I think he sold it. Seven's actor stole his scenes. I believe that Common was allowed him to play himself, because a farther reach may not be believable. Amandla is something special. She is such a star and I can't wait to see what's in store for her.

Im proud to have seen it and it has the opportunity to open the eyes of some so blinded by their own privilege 8.5/10