Tragic, mesmerising and powerful

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2015)

I have never been so ashamed of the human race as I am right now, writing this review after seeing history depicted in Selma. It is one of the most powerful films that I have ever seen, so much so that I struggle to find words to describe its amazing work.
David Oyelowo is mesmerising in the role of Martin Luther King, completely vanishing into the part. Not only does he have King's voice and appearance locked, he carries such a magnetic presence that he could very well be channeling the spirit of the great man himself. Not since Sean Penn portrayed Harvey Milk have I seen such a respectful and authentic performance. The supporting cast has strong performances - Wilkinson as LBJ for one, and a devastating turn by Robert G. Sanders for another - but for the most part they are subtle and allow Oyelowo and DuVernay to craft the tale.
DuVernay is superb in the directors chair. All of the artistic choices are executed so well and Selma contains some of the most devastating cinema ever put to screen. On a small personal favourite, the CIA logs as captions for historical events is a fantastic idea that works splendidly with the story.
Twist my arm for a flaw, and I'll point to the script. There is so much wonderful stuff in here, its terrible to point to it as the flaw, but I must. Selma does a wonderful job of depicting MLK as a normal man, but there is one too many scenes of him in self-doubt (especially where its placement makes no sense) and one too many scenes of Coretta Scott King and her marital problems with King. At one point I felt like the film was beating me over the head saying "LOOK! SEE? HE'S NORMAL LIKE YOU!" That subplot looked to feature prominently, but was promptly discarded halfway through and never revisited.
But I will not dwell any further on the flaws. With Pride and Boyhood, Selma forms a might trio of 2014's profoundly affecting films, and deserves all of the praise it can get in the years to come.