Hollow Image (1979 TV Movie) User Reviews

Rare 70's Exploration of a Successful Black Woman's Personal Struggles

[trista-902-431742 · 7/10 · 7 March 2015]

This 1979 made for TV film focuses on Harriet Gittens, a black businesswoman who works in the fashion industry as a buyer. Harriet's pursuit of success has taken her far from her Harlem background and past connections there--including ex-boyfriend Danny. Harriet suddenly finds herself torn between her current life "uptown" (glamorous career, fancy NY apartment, lawyer boyfriend) and the life she left behind.

A refreshing departure from 70's Blaxploitation fare, Hollow Image is still relevant today. The cast is uniformly excellent, with standout performances from Hattie Winston (Harriet's sassy cousin Ivy), Anna Maria Horsford (Danny's girlfriend who does NOT want Harriet back in the picture), and Morgan Freeman (Sweet Talk who was once a ladies' man, now a junkie.)

Highly recommended.

Good message, but flawed story

[bettyegriffinunderwood · 8/10 · 19 March 2023]

A rare depiction of successful, young Blacks (like The Best Man 20 years later, although the 35-ish/40-ish characters in this film are somewhat older than those in that later film...note that Morgan Freeman's character is supposed to look older than he is because of heroin addiction). I was 22 years old when I saw this on TV and enjoyed it very much. Upon seeing it again on YouTube, I had a number of questions: Where were the parents of these people (Danny was said to be living in the same apartment but apparently it's his now). These characters are supposed to be 30 years old. Are all their parents dead? Why was it uncertain that Sweet Talk could get into a rehab facility that day, when the young girl that came in after him was told the bus would come for her in 20 minutes? It's also hard to believe that Ivy wouldn't have mentioned to Harriet at all that their mutual friend had been murdered. But a good story nonetheless.