Creator: Nana Ampofo (Criminology)
(image source: IMDB)
With an all Black Main Cast, consisting of prominent names such as Idris Elba, Regina King and Jonathan Majors, The Harder They Fall takes us on a wild journey with outlaws, heists and gang laws. Attention grabbing from the start all the way to the finish, Director /Writer Jeymes Samuel’s pen game has never been so strong. Him and Boaz Yakin present us with a unique action filled movie packed with comedy and twists that will have you on the edge of your seat. Perhaps the most eye opening scene, where we realise we are not only watching a film based on gang wars, was that of the bank robbery. Blackmailed to steal from a bank, our main protagonists Nat Love (Jonathan Majors) and Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler) head off to a town in order to fulfil the request of the blackmailers. However, the town itself was a white town, it’s in this scene that we really see the effects of segregation: the cinematography had been full of colour up until this point, but the moment they had set foot in the White Town, the colours completely faded out to white. With the clarification in writing coming up a second later that this was indeed a white town. The white inhabitants of this town all dressed prim and proper to match their skin tone; in whites, creams and beiges. The editing of this scene, reflecting and being a metaphor for white purity, idealism, the general notion of whiteness being the perfect standard. What is most interesting however, is the reason why they chose to rob a white town: due to a black town not having that much money in their banks. The film still manages to highlight racial disparities and stereotypes whilst also delivering an engaging storyline.