Harriet

Director: Kasi Lemmons
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, Joe Allman, Clarke Peters, Henry Hunter Hall, Tim Guinee, Joseph Lee Anderson, Janelle Monae, Vondie Curtis-Hall
Distributor: Other
Runtime: 125 mins. Reviewed in May 2020

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Rating notes: Mature themes, violence and occasional coarse language

Perhaps the title does not strike a chord, not elicit memory. So, who is Harriet?

She is Harriet Tubman, one of the key African-American women in 19th century American history. To that extent, this film is a must for audiences throughout the United States. And it is important for non-Americans to experience something of the life of this woman, her courage, her causes, her commitment.

She is played by singer-actor, Cynthia Erivo (who made such an impression as the singer in Bad Times at the El Royale and Widows), an Oscar-nominated performance (and something of a shock to discover that she was actually born in London).

Initially, Harriet was a young slave in a southern plantation, called Minty. The initial part of the film offers a portrait of life for the slaves on the plantation, their work, hardships, religious fervour, and the arrogant behaviour of the landowners, parent generation, younger generation.

Minty decides that she wants to escape and uses a great deal of ingenuity, local help and contacts, experiences of the dangers of pursuit, of the terrain, before she reaches the North, and finds a haven in the black community of Philadelphia. It is a new life for her and she chooses the name Harriet.

And that is only the beginning. A substantial section of the film involves Harriet, her return to the south, wanting to rescue her family members, setting up means for others to escape, accompanying them, succeeding, many escapees able to use the Underground Railroad. In fact, she gets such a reputation that she is feted in the media, condemned by the landowners in the South, out to capture her.

But, life is not easy. She is pursued,but continues her work, takes more public stances, challenges both black and white leaders in the North.

It is a wonder that we do not know more about her. Especially since she led an active group in an uprising during the Civil War. And, surprisingly, she did not die until 1913, a half-century after her participation in the war.

Well worth seeing, well written and acted, and a substantial reminder of the experiences of African- Americans in slavery and in freedom.

Peter Malone MSC is an Associate of the Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.