HARRIET *

It would be sad if "Harriet" is remembered for being the only 2019 movie to feature an Oscar-nominated performance from a Black artist. Of course, my problem with the diversity issue isn't so much that Black artists aren't nominated but that Black artists aren't getting the roles that would get them nominated. "Harriet" is the story of Harriet Tubman, the American slave who practically waged a revolution against slavery from the inside. It's just the kind of meaty, real-life role Oscar loves and newcomer Cynthia Erivo is very good in the part but there is something sanitised and inspirational about the film itself, (lots of gospel singing in the face of adversity).

Tubman has become an American legend and while director and co-writer Kassi Lemmons, (she made "Eve's Bayou"), have tried to add a degree of complexity to her character, (using spells to bring about the death of her white master), the film's trajectory is still conventional, not to mention factually dubious. It's a story worth telling and it's a well-made movie but it lacks imagination; this is the Reader's Digest view of history and no-one other than Harriet herself stands out. It's just a pity the movie doesn't measure up to her.