Barry Jenkins has taken the Pulitzer prize winning novel and turned it into a poetic, mystical, and frighteningly raw ten-hour epic, comparable to Roots and Angels in America. The haunting score, lyrical cinematography, miraculous art direction and death-defying acting takes the viewer on a journey that plows us through the inhuman Southern depths of hell. You need to be patient. Jenkins doesn’t rush the story. The brutality is so off the charts, that the viewer will find the violent sequences almost unwatchable. The entire film is held together by actress Thuso Nokwanda Mdbedu. Her eyes tell a thousand stories. Praise should also go to Joel Edgerton who brings complexity to the monstrous slave hunter. Hollywood would be incapable of creating this type of brilliance. The chance for a director to work on this kind of canvass in this medium may be a death knell to the silver screen.     

Filmmaker Barry Jenkins On ‘The Underground Railroad’ : Fresh Air : NPR

The Underground Railroad – Official Trailer | Prime Video – YouTube