The Hate You Give (2018)

Directed by: George Tillman Jr. | 133 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Anthony Mackie, Issa Rae, Common, Algee Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, KJ Apa, Dominique Fishback, Lamar Johnson, TJ Wright, Megan Lawless, Rhonda Johnson Dents, Tony Vaughn, Marcia Wright, AL Mitchell, Karan Kendrick, Javon Johnson

Teens have a hard time. The pressure at school, both from society itself (after all, without a diploma you are nowhere) and fellow students (you have to give something for it to belong), is enormous and then you also have parents who have certain expectations of you. . Starr Carter appears in “The Hate U Give,” the film adaptation of Angie Thomas’s bestseller of the same name, a teenager like so many. There is one difference with her classmates, which makes her life that little bit more complicated: Starr lives in a poor, black neighborhood (the fictional Garden Heights), where drug lords rule. While she attends Williamson, an expensive private school that is mostly attended by white peers, her cute boyfriend Chris and the few close friends she has have no idea what Starr’s like, no matter how hard Chris claims it is. he sees no color. The girl is in a constant split to combine her two worlds – which are equally important to her. A major event puts the relationship on edge.

For the connoisseurs of the book: ‘The Hate U Give’ is a fairly faithful film adaptation. The message is also solid here and the majority of the story agrees. Of course there are characters and events that didn’t make it into the film, but for the momentum of this production, that was the right choice. The cast is great: young Amandla Stenberg is very powerful in her portrayal of Starr. She effortlessly takes the viewer on her rollercoaster of emotions and you can’t take your eyes off her. The rest of the cast is also impressive: Starr’s film parents Russell Hornsby and Regina Hall are particularly convincing. You give every child such a sweet, warm nest.

The film takes its viewers seriously, including the younger target audience, and provides a clear, poignant picture of the lives of African Americans, who always, always live with the fear that they could face police brutality. ‘The Hate U Give’ is actually as nuanced and layered as you would wish it to be. A very nice film about identity, standing up for your principles and the realization that these much-needed changes cannot be brought about by one generation. Essential movie cost.