#MELODRAMA IS STILL RELEVANT IN 2018

Directed by George Tillman Jr., “The Hate U Give” is a teen melodrama based on a novel of the same name by author Angie Thomas.

The story follows the life of a black teenage girl, Starr Carter, who attends a predominantly white private school.

After leaving a party with her childhood friend, Khalil, the two are pulled over for seemingly no reason.

An error in judgment is made and the officer ends up killing Khalil, leaving Starr the sole witness to the horrible crime.

Diving into the issues that beat at the heart of our modern society, the rest of the story examines Starr’s reaction to this shooting and how she deals with the fallout of her friend’s death.

We also follow the social challenges she faces at school, her inner turmoil, her fight in court, and her escape from the clutches of a local gang leader.

Does that sound like a lot of intricate topics to cover within the span of a two-hour movie?

You’d be correct if you answered ‘yes’, because this film definitely has a lot to unpack, and a lot more to say than can be conveyed in the allotted screen time.

This is not to say that what the film does manage to say is done poorly; surprisingly, it isn’t. Tillman manages to weave a well-told, respectful, thought-provoking story that makes you ask the same challenging questions that so many police shootings have posed before.

Police violence isn’t the only topic up for discussion in this movie, however. There is also a massive focus on the cause of the racial divide in America and its presence in modern society.

If nothing else, this movie is perhaps more poignant than any other film released in the last five years.

There are also great performances all around to complement the writing and subject matter. Amandla Stenberg does a fantastic job as Starr Carter and Algee Smith gives it his charismatic all as Khalil, for the limited amount of time he gets on screen.

Despite all the positives, no film is without its faults. While The Hate U Give might not be the worst offender, there are still plenty of little things to complain about.

The cinematography is one of those things. There isn’t anything wrong with it, per se, but it feels rather uninspired and a little flat, too much like a bit of TV movie at times. For the subject matter and gravitas of the story, it really feels like there should have been some extra flair to coincide, instead of looking like an after-school special.

And as long as nits are being picked, the subplot surrounding the drug dealers who threaten Starr and her family feels very forced and a little storybook-ish. This may fall in line with the film’s melodramatic tone, but it feels more like the writers needed something to create a sense of tension to push the story forward when they couldn’t do it with interesting dialogue.

The movie also has the tendency be a little preachy at times, and even a little one-sided. While Tillman tries to give lip service to the opposite sides of the argument, often the movie resorts to a simple ‘us against them’ mentality when considering the police and almost vilifies them, as literary shorthand.

Overall, though, “Hate” is a great think piece that prods at the issues on everybody’s mind today. This Oscar-bait effort probably won’t be getting nominated for any Academy Award honors this season, but Tillman tells a tragic-but-heartwarming, insightful and gripping story that keeps you watching till the end.

If you’re up for a more mentally challenging film or if you’re just a fan of good drama in general, then I’d wholeheartedly recommend seeing this in theaters.

The Hate U Give gets a 3.5/5.