Harriet

Araminta Ross, born into slavery in Maryland, learns she is to be sold and escapes alone to Philadelphia. She changes her name to Harriet Tubman. Being free is not enough for her; she goes back, first for her family and then for others, and becomes one of the busiest conductors on the network known as the Underground Railroad. Kasi Lemmons directed and wrote it. Cynthia Erivo plays Harriet, with Janelle Monae and Leslie Odom Jr as her allies. It was the first feature film about Tubman's life. The casting caused an argument. Erivo is a Black British actor, and some viewers objected to a figure this central to Black American history being played by someone who is not American. Lemmons said she understood the objections and stated her reasoning plainly: she was looking for excellence, for someone who would inhabit the role. An older story resurfaced alongside it. Around twenty-five years earlier a studio executive had reportedly suggested Julia Roberts to play Harriet Tubman. The producer Debra Martin Chase said the studio climate of that time was hostile and that she had not remembered the incident until the story came back around. The budget was 17 million dollars and the worldwide gross 43 million. It received two Academy Award nominations, Best Actress for Erivo and Best Original Song for Stand Up. Who it is for: viewers who want historical biography and Erivo's performance. Who it is not for: anyone expecting the whole of Tubman's political life. The film concentrates on the escapes and leans on a heroic template in places.