Oscar bait done properly

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2016)

Selma got nominated for Best Picture. Of course it did. It's a story focussing on an important issue and the main character is an important historical figure who had to overcome lots of obstacles to change the world. If that isn't Oscar bait, what is? Selma didn't look like much. It's just the same type of drama we get every year, which the Academy will love while the public rightly prefer better movies that just get ignored by the Oscars. It only got nominated for 2 awards, and it's admittedly good theme song Glory beat Everything is Awesome from The Lego Movie, which was not the right choice. However, with this film prepare for a pleasant surprise. Selma is a very good film. Not a masterpiece, but miles better than The Theory of Everything and Whiplash. This is what every Oscar baiting movie should aim for: a worthy, powerful movie which is also entertaining and focuses on being enjoyable to people who aren't Oscar voters or critics. Selma is something of a triumph, and a film where I genuinely wasn't bored at all throughout.
David Oyelowo is excellent as Martin Luther King, and was certainly worthy of an Oscar nomination. Ava DuVernay's direction is flat, but in a good way. She uses style sparingly (When it's used, it's very effective) and intelligently, and keeps the film grounded in realism, letting the surprisingly strong script and memorable performances tell the story instead of a lot of flashy visuals. Selma is admittedly going the motions through historical events at times and is somewhat predictable, but its characters are believable and its dramatic moments are genuine, rather than forced. Selma is quite a hard hitting movie at times, and it manages to keep you invested throughout. It is still pretty formulaic and you know what's coming much of the time, but rather than selling a message and shoving it down your throat, it's a walk through history which sells the dramatic side of the story well without being overly sentimental. A really good film overall, and far better than I was expecting.
8/10