Civil rights

Rating: 8/10 (21 March 2015)

Selma does not concentrate on the story of Dr Martin Luther King but does focus on the fight to secure equal voting rights with an epic march from the town of Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965.
British actor David Oyelowo steps up to the mark with a masterful portrayal of MLK and is matched by Carmen Ejogo as his wife. Two other British actors Tim Roth play Governor Wallace and Tom Wilkinson as Lyndon B Johnson.
The film takes a tough and gritty look at the civil rights era. An era that does not deserve to be sugar coated. Some of the people who stood up to be counted were killed including King and its easy to forget some 50 years later that rights were not given but had to be fought for and some paid a heavy price.
The film makes good use of archive footage and is enthralling although some scenes might had just be a tad overlong with a few cheesy lines. There are a few star cameos and the film has a strong drive that does bot feel too preachy.