Weighed down by its clunky first half

Rating: 6/10 (5 February 2015)

There's been a lot of discussion over whether or not director Ava DuVernay should have been nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards. Personally I would have to take the seemingly unpopular opinion that she was the one thing holding this film back. Admittedly the end of the film was very well done and even quite moving, but up until that point the whole thing just felt so clunky and unnatural. I see that she is quite inexperienced in the director's chair, and I feel that there was potential there, so hopefully she can iron out the odd flaw in her technique and become a really good director in the future.
David Oyelowo is the other one stirring up some debate over his lack of a nomination. I do feel he was quite hard done by, giving a quite terrific performance. The voice and accent he used were absolutely perfect and a pleasure to listen to throughout. The rest of the cast was also excellent. I was very interested to see how Oprah Winfrey went in her role and I'd have to say she held her own very well.
The movie itself is good, but never enters in the realms of being great. As previously mentioned the ending is perfectly executed and will leave a good taste in a lot of people's mouths and even help them to forget some of the earlier indiscretions the film commits. Sometimes historically accurate films get bogged down by needing to be 100% in line with what actually happened. This is simply an unfortunate part of the genre which can't be avoided. Does it deserve its nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards? Just.