Wessede Barrett

While I think that anyone who wants to see this movie should still see it to form their own opinion, I think that this movie failed in many aspects and the message portrayed was lost in the confusing script and tone. First and foremost, the actress Amandla Stenberg's performance did not fully capture the profound climate of this character. Her character/role was supposed to represent the hardships and everyday struggles that African Americans face in an institution of oppression. However, she was so reserved and calm for most of the film that even after her friend got shot, it was far too late when she finally got some emotion. Her emotions were not raw and it failed to make me feel exactly what she was feeling. She had ample opportunity to make the audience relate to her but she lacked depth and disappointed us over and over again. The worst part of the film was when she had the opportunity to speak for Khalil and the rest of the Black population in the interview, who have been treated unfairly in this unjust system, but she chose to focus on his past: drugs and other unrelated issues. I think this role should have went to (Letitia Wright or Imani Hakim) who have the intensity that we need for such a sensitive and thought-provoking film. Also, the writing was all over the place and left me baffled during some scenes of the film (sometimes anti-black and justified police violence). Even the discourse about color-blindness was very forced and didn't blend well with the context of racism, injustice, and police brutality. It was not executed well and I decided to leave the film early because it was frustrating to watch. The scene where she was on a car saying a speech disappointed me because she got a chance to say so much about this corrupt system but instead implied that it's the "Hate We Give" that perpetuates violence and chaos... Not the police and this oppressive system that targets Black people for the color of their skin.