What? A young adult drama that doesn't take place in space? No witches or vampires? It's actually sensitive to real issues faced by teens? And it's both relevant and timely?!
The Hate U Give, titled from a mantra often repeated in the film ("The hate u give little infants fucks everybody"), serves as an acronym as well. The film indeed examines what "thug life" means, albeit from a specific, bourgeois perspective. Following Starr, a young black woman living in a fairly poor black neighborhood, the film launches into issues of class, race, and activism in a story that feels ripped from the headlines. Actually, there are several direct references to current events that help the film embed itself into a lively imaginative space.
At the urging of her parents, Starr attends a private, affluent, almost exclusively white school. She is keenly aware of her double consciousness: her vocabulary, inflection, attire, demeanor, and interactions change dramatically when she's at school compared with when she's in her neighborhood. The kids at school appropriate what they assume to be "thug" phrases, music, dance, and attitudes to try and connect with her, not aware that she's performing too. The kids in her neighborhood tease her about being too white when she attends their parties.
But all is not identity performance when this drama takes a deadly turn. Starr reconnects with a former flame, Khalil, while out for a drive one night; they are pulled over by a police officer who brutally murders the unarmed young man, thinking his hairbrush was a weapon. In this moment, Starr becomes a witness, not only mindful of the chasm her life straddles but determined to address it. Her life is changed, her community is galvanized.
I really liked the film. It proves young adult stories don't have to be swamped in genre trappings and dripping with immaturity; they don't need sci-fi jargon or fantasy experiments to get their points across. At the same time, they don't need to be hypersexual or obsessed with attempting to assume prurient adult interests. This one is arresting in its strength and sense of purpose, and it is doing some really admirable cultural work. Too, its craftsmanship is palpable. Amandla Stenberg delivers a killer performance as Starr, and her supporting cast are great. It's not saturated with artificial light and sentimental music (Twilight), it doesn't sacrifice anything to spectacle (virtually any YA sci-fi), and while it doesn't unrealistically portray the reality of its protagonist (Love, Simon) it does cater to a fairly specific audience.
Unfortunately, I was also distinctly underwhelmed. Despite some theoretically interesting identity performance issues, the beginning of the film crawls along on its righteous way. I wasn't fully engaged in the picture until the final third of the movie, when protest marches hit the streets and Starr learns to develop her own voice. Even when this happens, though, the film remains firmly about her. My preference is less with the individual and more with the community; I would have wanted something a bit more like Detroit in operatic scope. But, for a comparatively domestic story about personal identity, this movie works just fine.
When a single episode of American Crime (season one, in case you wondered) can depict a more complete, complex, emotional, and devastating view of a race riot than an entire feature film, you know the movie isn't as effective as it could (or should) be.
IMDb: The Hate U Give
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