Adapted from the 2017 novel of the same name, “The Hate U Give” tells the story of Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), who happens to live two totally different lives. She lives in a poor, predominantly African-American neighborhood, but attends a very wealthy, prep school that is predominantly white. Starr has a pretty good grasp on being two different versions of herself, until her childhood best friend, Khalil (Algee Smith) is murdered by a police officer right in front of her very own eyes. 

After she mournfully witnesses this, she begins to think more deeply about the way she grew up, the friends she goes to school with, and the violence her neighborhood has deemed normal. Starr decides that it is time to use her voice to speak up for what’s right and make an impact on not only her community but also the world.

“The Hate U Give” is a politically charged and extremely thought-provoking film. Leading the way at a magnificent score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this film adaptation of the wildly popular New York Times Bestseller is an absolute crowd-pleaser, just like the book. Audience members will love how fast-paced and entertaining the film is. Many things happen throughout the plot, but never once does the film drag or lose its audience members to boredom, even with its two hours plus runtime.

The acting and casting in “The Hate U Give” is just one reason why it is a nearly flawless film. Every performance is charged with high emotion, especially that of Amandla Stenberg’s, who could not be any more perfect for the role of “Starr.” Stenberg, who is quite the political activist herself, nails the raw authenticity of her character, while creating an empowering role model for many young women in America today. Not to mention that TIME magazine just named her Next Generation Leader. What a role model, am I right?

Though this film is a work of fiction, I can honestly say that this is one of the most honest, realistic films I have ever seen. To make matters even better, it is a huge box office film, meaning people everywhere will be able to see it because its story will be spread across the world in theaters, unlike indie films that are very rarely shown in big chain theaters. Anyone 15 and up should go to their local theater and see this film. 

It is a treasure to watch a film as authentic as this one which is why we, as audience members and critics, need to be seeing more of them. If you’re anything like me, you go to the movies to see a story that will make you feel something, even if this means feeling an emotion that is so small. Somehow, this film was able to get in touch with every single one of my emotions, leaving me feeling full and inspired when I left the theater. This is the type of feeling one should have when leaving a heavy-hitting flick like this one because it means that the filmmakers did an excellent job.

Overall, “The Hate U Give” teaches many great lessons through cinema that can overall, be very impactful to the human condition. Though this flick is maybe not the happiest one to see, you should still go see it to learn something new and will find that it is a wildly entertaining film that will keep you in intrigued in the protagonist’s journey every step of the way.