REVIEWS

A harrowing and spectacular piece of television

Distributor: Amazon Prime Cast: Thuso Mbedu, Joel Edgerton, Chase W Dillon Released: Out now

So far in 2021, The Underground Railroad stands out as the most essential viewing experience of the year. Created and directed by Barry Jenkins and based on the celebrated novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead, this new Amazon Prime series is an often harrowing look at the experience of slavery in early 19th century America that needs to be seen.

The idea of a ten-episode exploration of slavery may sound a little intimidating, but aims at something more than brutal realism. Much like the book on which it’s based, the show is a mix of history and heightened reality. The titular railroad, for example, which in reality was a network of safehouses and ‘conductors’ who helped enslaved people to free states, is depicted here as a real subterranean rail system. But this railroad doesn’t so much take people to freedom as it takes us