Harriet is a biographical film about slave turned abolitionist and American icon Harriet Tubman. The film is bound to garner Oscar attention!
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about this film!
- Harriet is a 2019 American biographical film
- It is about slave-turned-abolitionist Harriet Tubman
- It is directed by Kasi Lemmons
- Kasi Lemmons wrote the screenplay with Gregory Allen Howard
- It stars Cynthia Erivo as Tubman
- With Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, and Janelle Monáe in supporting roles
- A biography about Harriet Tubman had been in the works for years
- Several actresses, including Viola Davis, were rumored to star
- Erivo was cast in February 2017
- Much of the cast and crew joined the following year
- Filming then took place in Virginia from October to December 2018
- The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2019
- It is scheduled to be released theatrically in the United States on November 1, 2019 by Focus Features
- The film received mixed reviews from critics
- Critics, though, praised Erivo’s performance
- But lamented the formulaic approach to the story
- It is based on the life of abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery and led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom on the Underground Railroad
- In 2015, Viola Davis was set to star in and produce a Harriet Tubman biopic
- However it never came to fruition
- Development on a new film began in May 2016
- In February 2017, Cynthia Erivo was cast as Tubman
- With Seith Mann directing
- From a screenplay by Gregory Allen Howard
- Further development on the film was announced in September 2018
- With Focus Features set as the new distributor
- Kasi Lemmons attached as director
- And Leslie Odom Jr., Joe Alwyn, Jennifer Nettles, and Clarke Peters, and others, were added to the cast
- In October, Janelle Monáe was announced among several new castings for the film
- With filming due to begin on October 8, 2018 in Virginia, lasting through December
- In the United States and Canada, Harriet will be released alongside Terminator: Dark Fate, Arctic Dogs and Motherless Brooklyn
- It is projected to gross $7.5- 9 million from 2,000 theaters in its opening weekend
- On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63%
- Based on 41 reviews
- With an average rating of 5.81/10
- The website’s critics consensus reads: “Harriet serves as a sincere tribute to a pivotal figure in American history — albeit one undermined by its frustratingly formulaic approach”
- Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 63 out of 100
- Based on 11 critics
- Indicating “generally favorable reviews”
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