Netflix fans have just days to watch 'inspirational' film with huge star
The powerful biographical drama, Harriet, tells the story of real-life hero, Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and went on to free hundreds of enslaved people during the civil war
The star of Wicked, Elphaba, is cast in a whole new light as Cynthia Erivo leads the charge in the powerful historical drama Harriet, set against the backdrop of a 1800s U. S plantation.
Harriet unfolds the incredible tale of Harriet Tubman, a real-life shero who broke free from the shackles of slavery to become a beacon of hope, aiding hundreds in their quest for freedom during the civil war. Tubman's unwavering courage not only altered the path of history but also stood as a foundational force in the fight to end slavery.
She endured an upbringing marred by violence on a Maryland plantation and lived through horrific injuries that plagued her since childhood.
Her daring escape in 1849 marked the beginning of a series of rescue missions, where she bravely returned to liberate her kinfolk and numerous others, leading them one by one to liberty.
Tubman etched her name in history books as the first woman to orchestrate an armed military raid on American soil. The cinematic retelling of her valiant battle for liberation has resonated with audiences worldwide, reports Surrey Live.
A critic on Rotten Tomatoes expressed their captivation: "Captured me from the start. Harriet is an exceptionally strong character. A very inspirational film."
Meanwhile, another review said: " This is a fantastic film about a dark time in America's history. The acting is superb. Definitely a film everyone should watch."
Initially released in 2019, this biographical drama showcases Cynthia Erivo's singing talents prior to her upcoming role in the 2024 musical Wicked. Her original song, Stand Up, which she wrote and performed, earned her prestigious nominations at the Grammy, Oscars, and Golden Globes.
Starring alongside Erivo are singer Janelle Monae and British actor Joe Alwyn, who portrays the owner of the enslaved individuals and the land on which they toil.
One enthusiastic review said: "I am literally obsessed with this movie! ! ! The music is amazing; the first few times I watched it, I would get chills when the singing happened.
"The storyline is amazing and very much gives you a very realistic view of how hard even the more northern slaves had it during the Civil War times.
"For how long the movie is, there was only one part that seemed a little slow but other than that the movie keeps my attention the whole time. It is also a very inspiring movie just to think and know how much she did and how much she's made an impact on so many."
Harriet was met with critical acclaim and achieved a global box office total of $44 million. The film garnered numerous significant nominations and holds an overall rating of 74% on a review site.
However, some viewers questioned the accuracy of the movement's depiction in the film. One viewer expressed disappointment, saying: "Well acted but slightly ridiculous. Harriet Tubman deserved better than the Hollywood version delivered here."
Despite this, the consensus appears to favour the film's emotive narrative, highlighting Cynthia Ervio's performance as exceptional.
The film is described as a rousing story of escape, belief, and liberty in one review that says: "Harriet is an exciting tale of escape, faith, and freedom."
The critique goes on to commend Erivo's portrayal: "Erivo captured the essence of a character sick of her old life with unwavering faith to start another. Although it doesn't break any storytelling barriers, I found Harriet to be moving and gained great respect for the figure represented on screen."
Harriet is currently available for streaming on Netflix, but hurry – it's set to leave the platform come June 1.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
The charm of Robbie Williams
What could it possibly feel like to be a sportsperson who gets the yips? To wake up one morning and be unable to replicate the technical skills that define you. To suddenly find the thing you do well absolutely impossible. Golfers who lose their swing, cricketers whose bowling deserts them, snooker players who can't sink a pot. Stage fright – something both Robbie Williams and Cat Power have suffered from – is much the same. Williams took seven years off touring last decade because of it, which must have been devastating for someone whose need for validation is so intense that he has made it his brand. Chan Marshall, the American singer who performs as Cat Power, toured through hers, resulting in shows performed on stages in near-darkness, or that ended early or were undermined by alcohol and the other things that terror forced on her. Both are now in their fifties, both still performing, both very consciously revisiting the past in their own ways, and you couldn't have got two more different performances. Williams, early in proceedings, announced his intention to be recognised globally as the King of Entertainment – Michael Jackson having already taken the title of King of Pop ('And you don't even have to come for a sleepover at my house!'). And truly, we were entertained. Even the boring bits – and there were boring bits, usually played out on the video screens – were entertaining by the standard of the boring video bits at stadium shows. The only part that was truly misjudged was a singalong medley of covers – he'd just done 'Let Me Entertain You' and been joined on the chorus by 60,000 people, so he didn't need to get the crowd loose. Better Man, the ape-as-Robbie biopic, has plainly resurrected him as an item of public interest after a period in which his appeal was becoming, Spinal Tap-style, a little more selective. 'Robbie fucking Williams. Back in stadiums,' he noted, and one wouldn't have predicted it even a couple of years ago. At heart it was a variety show: rock songs, singalong ballads, a load of jokes, a couple of set pieces and a pair of standards. Performing 'My Way' and '(Theme From) New York, New York' absolutely straight and with complete sincerity, gave away the lineage in which he places himself – and it's not next to Oasis. Obviously, he sees himself as an old-fashioned song-and-dance man, and he's a very, very good one – whether in end-of-the-pier or big-stadium mode. At a press conference in San Francisco in December 1965, Bob Dylan was asked whether he thought of himself as a singer or a poet: 'Oh, I think of myself more as a song-and-dance man, y'know.' That is the sole point of connection between Williams and Cat Power; for while he ran into the spotlight, she stayed in the shadows: her songs at the Barbican had no hint of dance about them. Her set, based on Dylan's 1966 tour with the Band (with an acoustic first half, then an electric second), has had writers asking why? Let's assume she just likes the songs, and if Bob Dylan is going to play them like this, why shouldn't she? But watching her expert band recreate what Dylan called 'that thin, wild, mercury sound' was a reminder that she could never hope to recreate the cultural force of Dylan going electric; that music loses its power shorn of context. The trio of records that unveiled Dylan's sound – Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde – are one of the rare points in pop history where you can hear a style of music being invented as it is recorded: if it were made now, you'd call it Americana, a thrilling amalgam of country, folk and R&B played by kids who'd grown up on rock'n'roll. It is thrilling because you can still hear history being made. But repeating it 59 years later? This was the rock equivalent of watching a BBC2 documentary where Lucy Worsley stands in front of someone pretending to be Richard III and enquiring about a horse. The songs with Robbie Williams's name attached to them are not as profound as those with Dylan's name attached to them. 'You think that I'm strong/ You're wrong/ You're wrong/ I sing my song/ My song/ My song,' will never win the nobel prize for literature. But the nakedness of Williams's neediness, and his complete awareness of his own limitations, is winning. Where Power has all but removed herself from her own performance, Williams's show is about one thing: him and only him. Not even the music. Just him.
Evening Standard
an hour ago
- Evening Standard
Brian Wilson's 10 best tracks (and the stories behind them)
So after Pet Sounds, and after the single Good Vibrations that's when it all started to go wrong for Wilson. The follow-up album - started the same year, 1966, as those landmark releases, such was the pace of creation at the time - was called Smile and was set to take the Beach Boys' music to even more ambitious heights with a concept album about American history, with a mash of high and low styles, with Wilson describing it as a 'teenage symphony to God.' By this stage he had been regularly seeking enlightenment with heavy LSD trips but also trying to capture bad trips on record, as with the track The Elements: Fire, but began to get spooked about the 'witchcraft music.' He had made everyone wear fireman's helmets during the recording and filled the studio with smoke. But when he heard a local building had burnt down, he thought it was his fault and stopped the recording.
North Wales Chronicle
2 hours ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Brian Wilson: Beach Boys star who surfed the waves to success
Born in California in 1942, he showed early musical talent, teaching harmonies to his younger brothers Dennis and Carl and obsessively studying piano. In 1961, Wilson, his brothers, cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine recorded Surfin', a local hit that marked the birth of The Beach Boys. Signed to Capitol Records a year later, the band shaped 1960s American pop with hits such as Surfin' USA, I Get Around and California Girls. The 1966 album Pet Sounds, which included the track God Only Knows, remains a landmark in modern music, influencing generations of artists including Sir Paul McCartney, who called it his favourite record. Sir Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Smokey Robinson and Carole King were also fans, while The Who's drummer, Keith Moon, fantasised about joining the Beach Boys. The band ranks among the most popular groups of the rock era, with more than 30 singles in the Top 40 and worldwide sales of more than 100 million and they were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Originally unfinished in the 1960s, he finally completed and released Smile in 2004 to critical acclaim. Wilson struggled with mental illness and drug addiction, but in later years he toured globally.
