Rich. Chilling. Powerful. Insightful. These are all words that describe the new film, “Harriet.” The overdue movie left me sitting in the dark theater completely speechless. I was bewildered and drowned by overpowering emotions. The film was informative, crafted perfectly scene by scene. Not once did I peel my attentive eyes from the screen. The intense motion picture informed me about historical events I was unaware of before. Not only did the film bring me moments of fear, sorrow, and empowerment but it was extremely informational. The ending did not leave me askew, even though I was left wondering what happened to some of the characters. “Harriet” captivated me through the whole movie.

Throughout the film you follow the life of Harriet Tubman. Born into slavery in Dorchester County, Tubman escaped slavery and changed her name from Araminta Ross to Harriet Tubman. Harriet was her mother’s name and Tubman was her husband’s. After bravely traveling a hundred miles on foot by herself to freedom, she then returns on over thirteen missions to rescue over seventy slaves. They include her close friends and loving family. Harriet was an American abolitionist and political activist. Harriet once said, “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” Tubman had very moving speeches throughout the film that gave me chills. Never before had I thought someone’s words could move me, including the audience, as well as Tubman’s.

Cynthia Ervio, the actress who plays Harriet, took on such a hard role. She had to recreate Harriet Tubman’s raw emotions, and she does it beautifully. She conveys a very powerful character. The other actors and actresses in “Harriet” also had very meaningful roles and impacts on the story line. Actress Janelle Monae embodies a powerful female character. Her performance in “Harriet” as well as another empowering film, “Hidden Figures,” makes me want to watch both films again.

I highly recommend seeing “Harriet.” The story was extremely inspiring and had a lot of historical facts and historical events I was not aware of. My one complaint was that I felt some of the most important characters’ plot lines just withered away and left me wondering what happened to them. The bittersweet ending perfectly wrapped up the film, giving lots of history to its viewers.