This movie is based off multiple sad but true events on racism and police brutality mixed into one. We always hear about it on social media, but it’s nothing too common that people see in person for it to have as big as an effect. Right before the movie starts, Director George Tillman Jr. speaks to the audience and talks about wanting to “open viewers eyes” with the movie he created.

The plot of the movie starts off introducing the life of a young sixteen year old girl named Starr; yes, with two “R”s. She is born and raised in a city called Garden Heights, which doesn’t have the nicest reputation and is known for its high crime rates. She and her two brothers, Seven and Sekani, were forced to go to a preppy private school outside of their city after the death of one of her bestfriends, Natasha, when she was just ten years old. She talks about being forced to live two different versions of herself because she acts two different ways in front of school and at home.

She gets a ride home from her childhood best friend, Khalil Harris, after a fight broke loose at a party she was forced to go to. On their way home and getting pulled over, she witnessed Khalil die in front of her from a fatal shooting in police brutality when the cop mistaken his hair brush as a “weapon”. Instead of detectives figuring out the situation, their main focus was that Khalil worked for the King Lord, the biggest drug dealer in Garden heights, rather than his death. With Starr being the only witness, she has to decide if she’s willing to speak up for Khalil

 and the kind of person he really is or staying hidden. If she stays hidden, Khalil will never have justice; but if she speaks out loud for him, everyone will know she was the one who was with him and the publicity will rise, and she will have to snitch on the King Lord and possibly suffer the consequences.

My opinion: Honestly, tears were streaming down my face multiple times throughout the movie. I even saw it not just once, but twice. It puts the audience in view where they can feel the whole situation happening to themselves. I loved Starr’s characteristics. She was strong, brave, and loyal about who she was and where she came from. Think about it, both of her bestfriends got killed. One was from a drug dealer when they were ten, and the other one was from a cop when they were sixteen. After witnessing both deaths in front of her own eyes, she still manages to stay happy and live her life afterwards. I also really admired her father, actor Russell Hornsby. His character was very passionate about things he believed in like his rights and how the system is corrupt. After getting out of jail from selling drugs for the King Lord, he decided to break the chain so his family could live better lives. He taught Starr and her brothers The Black Panthers’ 10- point program when they were very young. It’s a sheet that has a set of rules for them to live by. Which he makes them repeat to him at some point in the movie. He also gave all three of their names a purpose. Starr bright, Seven perfection, Sekani joy. Throughout the movie, Starr becomes more like him and learns more from him. She starts to shine with what she fights for and what she believes in, which follows up with her name. He was her biggest influence to finding herself and opening her eyes to what the real world is really like. I highly recommend everyone ( possibly 14+ ) to watch.