Harriet: Historical Biopic on Slave-Turned-Abolitionist Hits the Right Notes

By Karen Gordon

Rating B-

Given who she was and what she did, it’s incredible there has never been a movie made about the slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Harriet remedies that with an affecting story hampered only by its earnest ambitions.

When we first meet Harriet (Cynthia Erivo), she is a slave named Araminta or Minty. Minty is married to a free black man who approaches the family that “owns” her to ask that they let her go so their children can also be born free. The family refuses. There are hard truths about what Minty’s future will be. But her family — some free, some still owned — are all in this place, and those ties are important to her.

When the plantation patriarch dies, leaving his son Gideon (Joe Alwyn) in charge, things change. Although they were raised together, Gideon has an antagonistic and creepy attitude to Minty, and prepares to sell her. That, for her, is the last straw.

Minty has a gift. When she prays, she has visions (which she believes come from God) of things that could happen, and premonitions of danger. And so, even though the odds are heavily stacked against her, Minty decides to make a run to Philadelphia and freedom by herself.

After a gruelling and dangerous trip, she arrives and is taken in by the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society, run by William Still (Leslie Odom Jr.) and takes the name Harriet Tubman to signify her freedom. But Harriet isn’t happy without her husband, and a year later, against all advice she decides to return to bring her husband and others back.

The trip brings personal heartbreak but Harriet is undaunted. She returns to Philadelphia with family members. Still brings her into a new secret organization, the group of former slaves, free African Americans and white abolitionists that that manages and funds the Underground Railroad. And quickly, Harriet becomes the most successful and effective conductor on the railroad.

As slaves fled from the plantations in greater numbers, there were consequences that ultimately lead to the American Civil War, and Harriet’s role as a freedom fighter continued in remarkable ways, even beyond the Underground Railroad.

The movie is ambitious, and with a running length of about two hours and 20 minutes, it’s kind of epic. To its credit, it gives Harriet Tubman her due. But Harriet also takes a large bite out of history, sometimes more than it can comfortably chew. Although this is all focused around this remarkable woman, without being heavy-handed, the film speaks quite movingly to the evils of slavery, and the complexity of its impact on these people whose lives were outside of their control.

It also touches on the economics of slavery and how the benefits of that to the slave owners motivated many to fight against any kind of reform. Yet in trying to hit all of these points, co-writer/director Kasi Lemmons is sometimes overly expositional, and the movie often dips into melodrama. At times, it feels more like an elevated made-for-television movie.

In spite of this, the film is affecting and moving. The formidable British actress Cynthia Erivo does great work here. The script doesn’t give her much range, but Erivo gives us a woman whose determination and humanity shines, presenting a hero for her age… and ours.

Harriet. Directed by Kasi Lemmons. Starring Cynthia Erivo, Jennifer Nettles, Janelle Monáe, Joe Alwyn, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Leslie Odom Jr. Opens wide November 1.