Not one of my favorite films of the year but still one of the most important.

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2015)

'SELMA': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)
One of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2014, and another big Oscar hopeful, is this historical drama film about the 1965 voting rights marches, led by Martin Luther King, Jr.. It was directed by Ava DuVernay (who made history this year by being the first black female director to ever be nominated for a Golden Globe award) and written by first time feature film writer Paul Webb. The movie stars David Oyelowo as King and costars Tom Wilkinson, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Oprah Winfrey, Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Cuba Gooding Jr. and many others. It's drawn controversial criticisms, from some, for being historically inaccurate in it's portrayal of President Lyndon Johnson and DuVernay was also forced to write new versions of King's speeches, for the movie, due to another film studio owning the rights to them. While the movie is not one of my favorite films of the year, I do still think it's one of the most important.
The film tells the story of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s (Oyelowo) three month long battle to secure equal voting rights, in 1965; alongside James Bevel (Common), Rev. Horsea Williams (Wendell Pierce), John Lewis (Stephan James) and other civil rights activists. The film details the historical march they led, from Selma to Montgomery, and the horrendous opposition they faced, from bigoted legal forces. Wilkinson plays President Johnson; who was eventually persuaded to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as a result of their heroic actions. Critics of the film say Johnson is displayed too much as an opponent to King, when he in fact was a compassionate ally. Historians are divided on the truth to these claims.
The film contains a Golden Globe award winning song, titled 'Glory' (performed by Common and John Legend), which references the current protests in Ferguson. I think the parallels drawn between the struggles of equality now, with the 60s, show how much King and other protesters were able to accomplish, while still illustrating how far we need to go today. This is why I think 'SELMA' is one of the most important movies of the year, despite it being far from perfect. Oyelowo is fantastic in the lead and Winfrey, Wilkinson and others give good performances as well; but I think actors like Ejogo and Common are a bit lacking, in their roles. At times the movie feels a little too melodramatic, and slow paced; it also doesn't quite feel like it reaches it's full emotional potential (it seems like the subject matter could have been even more moving and inspiring). I do think DuVernay did a great job directing the film but perhaps the screenplay could have used a little more fine- tuning. I don't have a problem with the possible historical inaccuracies of the story; it's an artistic interpretation of events, not a documentary, and it's impossible to say who's right or wrong in such debates. While I do think the movie could have been even better I still think it's a really well made film and one that needs to be seen, by pretty much everyone.
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