The Underground Railroad

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⭐ 10.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

This is the best thing I have watched in a long long time. Based on a novel of the same name, it follows Cora as she escapes the plantation she is a slave on and is hunted across multiple states by a slave catcher. It is not strictly based on true events, but is clearly based around a real thing, and it has several fantastical elements (there is a real train in the underground railroad, for instance). The combination of heartbreaking reality and poignant artistic choices was really special.

Directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk), I know going in that this would look incredible. Sure enough, the grim content side by side with beautiful landscapes and intimate closeups was incredibly effective. I had tears in my eyes for each of the 10 episodes, which is pretty special, and I get choked up thinking about a bunch of the scenes. The score is similar to those movies as well, but with some more foreboding themes and never really let you get comfortable.

The content of the story is obviously very uncomfortable at times, but it is clearly important to reckon with. The world we live in being built this way was a tough pill to swallow, and I was constantly shocked that all of this didn't even happen that long ago. We get several viewpoints across the 10 episodes, including the origin of the slave catcher who is after Cora, but almost everything is through Cora's eyes, and I feel connected to her in a way I would have never anticipated. Give this woman all the awards she can get, it is an amazing performance.

I could go on and on about my favourite episodes, and the moments that I will always remember. The song choices to end each episode also stood out to me, always by a modern black singer/songwriter and always jarring to hear, shocking me out of the revelry each episode had me in. I spent a bunch of time thinking about what they mean, but I am not that smart. All I know is that this was 10 hours of pure artistic expression about something that was so personal to every person involved in making it. I have been watching it for a while now, almost in hopes that it wouldn't end, and I have been recommending it to any person who brings up TV. Watch it!

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