Harriet (film)

Harriet had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2019, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 1, 2019, by Focus Features. It received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised Erivo's performance and found the film sincere but formulaic, and was a moderate commercial success, grossing $44 million worldwide against its production budget of $17 million. The film received several accolades and nominations, particularly for Erivo's performance, which garnered her nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors Guild. For the song "Stand Up", Erivo and Joshuah Brian Campbell received Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe nominations.

Plot[edit]

In 1849 Maryland, a slave state, Araminta "Minty" Ross is newly married to freedman John Tubman. Minty is a slave on the Brodess plantation, along with her mother and sister. Reverend Green finishes his sermon advising obedience and to follow the Lord's will. Minty's father, Ben, also a freedman, approaches her owner, Edward Brodess, with a lawyer's letter saying that Minty's mother, Harriet "Rit", was to have been freed when she was 45 and her children born free. John and Minty want to start a family and want their children to be born free. Brodess angrily tears up the letter.


In despair, Minty prays for God to kill Brodess and is caught by Brodess' adult son Gideon, who castigates her. When Brodess dies shortly afterward, Gideon offers Minty for sale. Minty, who suffers "spells" since being struck in the head as a girl, has a vision of herself escaping to freedom. She decrees these scenes as visions from God and decides to escape. John offers to accompany Minty, but she leaves him behind, fearing he would lose his freedom if caught with her. Minty meets with her father who tells her to go to Reverend Green for help with her journey.


Minty travels all night and is pursued by Gideon and other men on horseback. Eventually, Gideon corners her at a bridge over a river, where he appeals to her faith and promises not to sell her. Minty jumps anyway, proclaiming her will to "be free or die".


Minty is presumed drowned but successfully makes it to Wilmington, Delaware and locates the abolitionist Thomas Garrett. He takes her to the Pennsylvania border and Minty walks the remaining 25 miles to Philadelphia, where she meets William Still, chairman of the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society. William encourages her to take a new free name and she chooses Harriet after her mother and Tubman after her husband. Harriet temporarily lodges at Marie Buchanon's, the daughter of a freed slave who was born free and is now a boarding-house proprietor.


After a year in Philadelphia, Harriet begs William to assist bringing her family over. He tells her helping slaves has become harder. Refusing to give up, Harriet successfully makes it to John's homestead with forged papers only to find he has remarried and is expecting a child. Devastated, Harriet receives further visions and is found by her father. With the exception of her parents and sister, Rachel, Harriet leads nine other slaves to safety, five of them being from Gideon's farm. The next day, Gideon realizes and threatens Rachel—who has just given birth—and her children. She reveals to Gideon that Harriet is alive and has recently returned. Gideon thinks this unlikely. Meanwhile, Harriet is admitted to the committee of the Underground Railroad for her actions.


Harriet continues to guide slaves to freedom as a conductor on the Underground Railroad, and is dubbed "Moses". However, Rachel is a house slave and will not run because Gideon has sold her children and she hopes one day to be told where they are. She meets Walter who had worked for Bigger Long as a slave catcher and decides to go with her. The Fugitive Slave Act passes, meaning escaped slaves are in jeopardy of being brought back from free states. Harriet hears that Rachel has died.


Gideon is livid when he discovers that Harriet is "Moses". He pursues her to Philadelphia along with Bigger Long, who beats Marie to death. Harriet then flees to Canada with help from her friends. After receiving a vision that her father is in imminent danger, Harriet returns and takes both her parents north. Over time, the Brodess plantation falls into financial ruin. Brodess' widow vows to catch Harriet, using her sister's children as bait, but Harriet's team overwhelms Gideon's siblings and retrieves the remaining slaves.


In a final confrontation, Gideon shoots Bigger Long dead as he is about to kill Harriet. Harriet then subdues Gideon, but allows him to live, prophesying that he would die on a battlefield fighting for a lost cause and the sin of slavery. Telling him that her people would be free, she takes his horse and rides away. Harriet later leads an armed expedition of 150 black soldiers in the Combahee River Raid. The epilogue describes some of her accomplishments: She personally freed more than 70 slaves, was a Union spy during the Civil War, lead 150 black soldiers in the Combahee River Raid, freeing over 750 slaves, and advocated for women's suffrage. She died at the approximate age of 91 with the last words: "I go to prepare a place for you".