An important film, weighed down a bit by it's own importance

Rating: 8/10 (15 February 2015)

SELMA is a very important movie depicting very important people in very important situations in an important place in U.S. history.
Did I mention that this movie is important?
Director Ava DuVernay crafts a serious motion picture about a serious subject - the Civil Rights movement culminating in the march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama in 1965. Led by the great Dr. Martin Luther King, this march was a seminal moment in the '60s Civil Rights movement. This picture reverently and seriously recounts those days and does a strong job doing so. It is a GOOD movie, but it is this seriousness, this reverence, that ultimately keeps this movie from being GREAT. It bogs itself down, at times, under the weight of it's own seriousness.
David Oyelowa plays Dr. King as a determined, moral man looking to drive change in his country. I need to give Oyelowa the highest praise I can for this type of bio-pic. He recreates the essence of Dr. King without being a mimic. I felt as if I was watching a real person and not an actor acting like a certain person.
Oyelowa is surrounded by a topnotch cast - Carmen Ejogo (as Coretta Scott King), Tim Roth (a welcome site as Gov. George Wallace), Tom Wilkinson (LBJ), Common, Wendell Pierce and Oprah Winfrey. Special notice should be paid to Lorraine Toussaint as Amelia Boynton. I've always thought that Toussaint was a fine, but unspectacular actress, but her performance in this movie has changed my mind about her. She was terrific.
Absolutely, SELMA is a movie that must be seen. It tells a story that needs to be told. Clearly, the filmmakers thought that as well and felt that importance, that weight as well.
8(out of 10) stars and you can take that to the BANK (of Marquis)