Where I Watched It: Netflix
English Audio description?: Yes
Cast: Cynthia erivo, Leslie Odom Jr, Janelle Monae, and Joe Alwyn.
Directed By: Cassy Lemons
Nominations: Best Actress and Best original song
It’s Oscar season, and I’m living my shame out in the open by tackling films I’ve never seen before, but managed Oscar nominations. I’m trying to spread the love across streamers, and prioritize audio description (where applicable). Netflix luckily hosts this right now, and I was glad to finally get to see it. you know, this original song is a banger. Still. And, Cynthia erivo earns her nomination.
however, the film itself is just fine. there’s something about the film that feels like it wants to say something, but can’t. It takes place in this window of Harriet’s life, where she first escapes, and then keeps going back like Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge. just one more. She’s assisted along the way by Odom Jr, who plays someone I assumed was a villain at first, and monae, who i also thought might try and screw Harriet over. Neither was true, and while both actors are strong, they also have stronger work in their resume.
by the nature of what Harriet Tubman went through, the performance is almost a layup for erivo. but the film itself falls short, feeling like it’s too narrow, and even though it focuses on the Underground Railroad aspect of her life, that’s really what it ends up being. An Underground Railroad movie, and not a real look at Harriet Tubman, who also went on to be a prominent figure in the women’s suffrage movement. it’s half her life. It’s a biopic about Ronald Reagan the actor, but never the President, or any other historical figure who had a multi faceted life. It now leaves the world of Harriet Tubman open for another to come along and make another stronger story, perhaps as a limited series.
I also wasn’t a huge fan of the audio description. It felt kinda flat, which really didn’t help the film either. It’s not a terrible track, and I don’t want to totally throw this baby out with the bath water, but I certainly have nothing to laud. it’s serviceable.
I think this film earned the exact nominations it deserved. perhaps, we were missing a costume design, or production design, but that’s hard for a blind film critic to definitively comment on. Actress and Song feel just right, and even though this film isn’t perfect, erivo makes a damn good case for watching it anyway.
Final Grade: B+