Mindhackers 

Black History Month on cable television was a disappointing experience. With the networks all clamouring to air the same White Saviour stories we’ve seen time and time again, I was looking to cap off my February with a film that appeared to be a little more brave- something that looked to further black art and racial commentary in a way that spoke in a more piercing authenticity. The trailer for Antebellum implied just that, seeing as it was brought to us by the same producers as Us and Get Out. My lasting impression was that it, unfortunately, fell just short of the ambitious setup it uses as a vehicle to its storytelling.

An extremely powerful cast consisting of Janelle Monáe, Kiersey Clemons, Gabourey Sidibe, Lily Cowles and Tongayi Chirisa save this film from its pitfalls. A modern-day thriller, Antebellum tells the story of a successful author, Veronica (Monáe)  whose glamorous life among fellow academics is upended when she is forced into slavery on a plantation straight out of the antebellum south. She bides her time, assimilating to the rigidly sanctioned and terrifying conduct of her new environment, until planning her daring escape- back to the family and career that she proudly basked in before it was stripped from her.