Good Acting but Unfortunately Inaccurate

Rating: 3/10 (1 January 2015)

David Oyelowo played a spectacular MLK. The drama was good and it kept me entertained...like The Expendables. The movie was strongly fictionalized, unfortunately tarnishing its historical accuracy. This would have been a great movie even if it had stuck to the historical record but for Hollywood reasons (sensationalism; promoting racial discord; etc) the writer actively "reimagined" LBJs relationship with MLK to promote the idea of MLK fighting on all fronts - even against the all-powerful President who stands in his way. In fact (with plenty of recorded phone conversations, and MLKs words to back it up) LBJ and MLK worked closely in tandem to orchestrate the Civil Rights Act in '64 and Voting Rights Act in '65. This is not even debated - it's known and well recorded and understood. The fact that the film presented the opposite of the truth in this regard - for box office sales no less - is unfortunate indeed. For those who turn to Hollywood for history lessons they will see an entertaining movie but learn very little.