Each year, around Oscar season, a new biopic emerges that is supposed to excite audiences. Last year, that was Bohemian Rhapsody and First Man. The year before, there was I. Tonya and Battle of the Sexes. Despite the consistency of the genre’s production, the quality never seems to match. Although films like First Man and I, Tonya do appear once in a while, a majority of films within the genre feel like nothing more than a glorified Wikipedia page. While Harriet introduces variables not found on a simple Wikipedia page, they are not for the better.
The biopics that are the most flawed are the ones that try to depict their subject’s whole lifetime. Although Harriet does not enter that route, the span in which the film covers is significant, making every action Harriet Tubman accomplishes within the film, whether it is escaping her slave owners or helping a group of 70 slaves break free from their owners, end up feeling like just a fun fact. It creates a bland understanding of one of our world’s bravest figures that’s better regulated for a History Channel documentary.
Despite being a straight-laced biopic, Harriet does add an element within the film that tries to deviate itself from the beaten path. Although Marvel has seemingly dominated our world’s vision of what a superhero means, it is undeniable that the real superheroes are people like Harriet Tubman. However, Harriet depicts Tubman’s powers in a way that is not only strange for a genre that is supposedly grounded in facts, but also suspicious. Without trying to dance around it, in this biopic, Harriet Tubman has superpowers, not metaphorical superpowers, but actual supernatural superpowers.
When first introduced, the “visions” make no sense. The film plays it off as an act of God. By the end, the “visions” feel like gimmicks that ultimately ruin any tension created by the suspense of the situations displayed. The insertion of these supernatural visions that Tubman develops over the course of the film not only ruin the ebbs and flow of the film, but also creates an artificial sensitivity as if the director wanted to hammer in our head the fact that slavery is cruel and Harriet Tubman is a hero. Although the intention is admirable and the facts displayed should be further emphasized, because of the visions, these facts feel redundant and stale. In the end, the supernatural elements not only feel odd throughout but are a bit suspicious considering who and what the film chooses to highlight.
At the end, Harriet is just another cog in Hollywood’s biopic-churning machine. Cynthia Erivio does her best to give the film the vigor it needs, but everyone else does not do the same. Joe Alwyn is cartoonish and unbelievable. Leslie Odom Jr. is so wide-eyed he fails to give his character the seriousness demanded from the film. Janelle Monáe’s charm and charisma are wasted. There is nothing special about this biopic, which is a shame. In a society that is seemingly consumed by racism and hate, shining a light on one of the people that tried to overcome this consumption only seemed logical in our steps towards progress as a nation. However, instead of creating an invigorating piece that would lead audiences to want to learn more, Harriet is just tiresome.
2/5 STARS