Selma: A Very Important Film about a very important bit of History

Rating: 6/10 (21 January 2015)

In Selma David Oyelowo portraits the legendary historical figure Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The story joins Dr. King from his Noble Peace Prize award presentation in Oslo Norway in 1965 through his famous march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama. The film pin points several key moments and people in this violent and turbulent time in history. Some powerful moments include Dr. King's meetings with LBJ played very convincingly by Tom Wilkinson. This is a tour de force cast with Oprah Winfrey, Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Cuba Gooding Jr., Martin Sheen and Common to name a few. Let me start off by saying that this is a very important film that everyone should see, as a means to become more acquainted with this important time in history. Each actor with major roles in the film played actual people in history, not just random plot driving fictional vehicles. Tim Roth is phenomenal as George Wallace, the racist governor of Alabama. Dylan Baker does a very convincing J. Edgar Hoover, a better cast than Leonardo DiCaprio in J. Edgar (2013). But at the heart of this film is David Oyelowo, carefully playing one of the most iconic and important men in American history. A lot rides on the shoulders of an actor who plays that role. You don't want to be doing an SNL sketch type parody of Dr. King, despite how easy it could be to jump into his iconic speech patterns. Oyelowo, brings great heart and spirit to show us a deeper look at Dr. King. I think it's a more intimate portrayal that shows more pain, worry and self-doubt than ever before. Oyelowo's performance is the best part of this film. As for the directing, I feel the director Ava Duvernay was a little in over her head in a project of this magnitude. Her directing expertise has been limited to a few independent films, shorts and television episodes. In a recent interview on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, Duvernay pointed out that she is an independent film director. As she put it, a person who films people talking in rooms. Despite some amazing performance, Selma plays out like a History Channel or HBO miniseries. I think a more experienced director should have been called in for this project. Overall Selma made me deeply reflect on the rights I and most Americans take so arrogantly for granted. It's sad we live in a country that would rather vote for a TV game show winner than for State and Local officials. I think it's extremely short sighted to think of what Dr. King did only as it directly relates to African Americans in this country. Dr. King's message was about everyone having a voice, so that the powers that govern us reflect the wants and needs of the people. We are not living out Dr. King's dream without that voice.
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