The Hate U Give is a 2018 American coming-of-age teen drama film produced and directed by George Tillman Jr. from a screenplay by Audrey Wells (who died the day before the film's release), based on the 2017 young adult novel of the same name by Angie Thomas. The film was produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, Robert Teitel and Tillman Jr., and stars Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall, Russell Hornsby, Lamar Johnson, KJ Apa, Sabrina Carpenter, Common, and Anthony Mackie, and follows the fallout after a high school student witnesses a police shooting.
The project was announced on March 23, 2016, and casting took place during August and September 2017. Principal photography began on September 12, 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia. On February 5, 2018, it was announced that Kian Lawley's role was recast after a video of his use of racially offensive slurs resurfaced. A month later, it was announced that Lawley had been replaced by Apa.
The Hate U Give premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2018, and was released in the United States on October 5, 2018, by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed $34 million worldwide against its $23 million budget and received acclaim from critics, with many praising the performances (particularly Stenberg and Hornsby), Wells' screenplay, and Tillman Jr.'s direction. The film was nominated for and won numerous accolades, including Stenberg's winning of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture and being nominated for a Critics' Choice Award.
Plot
Starr Carter is a 16-year-old African-American girl who lives in the predominantly black neighborhood of Garden Heights, but attends a predominantly white private school called Williamson Prep.
After a firearm is discharged at a party Starr is attending, Starr is driven home by her childhood best friend, Khalil. While driving home, they are stopped by a police officer for failing to signal at a lane change. The officer barks orders at Khalil, such as to roll down the window and turn off the music. Khalil disagrees with the officer, who instructs him to exit the car.
While outside the car, the officer retrieves Khalil's drivers license and instructs him to keep his hands on the roof while the officer checks his ID. Khalil leans down into the car window to check on Starr, before reaching through the driver-side to pick up a hairbrush. The officer, thinking that Khalil is reaching for a gun, shoots and kills Khalil. As Starr mourns over Khalil, the officer realizes that Khalil was not armed.
Khalil's killing becomes a national news story and causes a town wide protest against racial injustice. Starr's identity as the witness is initially kept secret from everyone outside Starr's familyleaving Starr's two best friends, Hailey Grant and Maya Yang, and Starr's boyfriend, Chris, who all attend Williamson Prep together, unaware of Starr's connection to the killing. Having to keep this secret weighs on Starr, as does her need to keep her Williamson and Garden Heights personas separate.
Starr agrees to be interviewed on television and to testify in front of a grand jury after being encouraged by a civil rights lawyer, April Ofrah. While defending Khalil's character during her interview, in which her identity is hidden, she names the King Lords, the gang that controls her neighborhood. The gang retaliates by threatening Starr and her family, forcing them to move in with her Uncle Carlos, her mom's brother, who is a police detective.
Carlos was a father figure to Starr when her father, Maverick, spent three years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Following his release, Maverick left the gang and became the owner of the Garden Heights grocery store where Starr and her half-brother Seven work. Maverick was only allowed to leave the King Lords because his false confession to a crime kept gang leader King from being locked up. King, who is widely feared in the neighborhood, now lives with Seven's mother Iesha, as well as Seven's half-sister Kenya, who is friends with Starr, and Kenya's younger sister Lyric.
After a grand jury does not indict the officer, Garden Heights erupts into both peaceful protests and warlike riots. In reaction to the decision, Starr takes an increasingly public role, including speaking out during the protests, which are met by police in riot gear. Her increasing identification with the people of Garden Heights causes tension with Starr's school friends, and especially between her and Chris. Starr and Maya eventually start standing up to Hailey's racist comments, breaking up their friendship, and Chris remains supportive of Starr.