A little too in your face for me.

Rating: 6/10 (9 January 2015)

I was pretty interested in seeing this, mostly because this was the main contender for Oscar bait, (before the Oscar nominations anyway). I saw it opening day with my brothers, needless to say it wasn't packed, (probably too busy seeing Transformers or something stupid). The film wasn't as much of an impact as I hoped it would be. I was hoping it would grab me in the same way 12 Years a Slave did, but it wasn't nearly as moving as I thought.
It tells the story of MLK Jr. (David Oyelowo), as he fights to get voting rights from Alabama's African American restrictions through his pacifist ways and reasoning, assembling a march from Selma to Montgomery.
The cinematography, performances, and directing style are excellent. The cinematography was smooth, stylish, and it just looked good overall with the lighting. David Oyelowo was super convincing. He not only looked the part, but he acted the crap out of the part. His wife played by Carmen Ejogo is very supportive, and was probably my second favorite performance of the film. Other than her, the rest of the supporting cast is kind of weak. Opera plays the exact same character in every single film about race, the strong willed woman who doesn't tolerate discrimination by hitting people, it's a reprise of her role in The Color Purple, which was done better. Tim Roth as George Wallace is so over the top, it's just goofy. Martin Sheen is barely in it, so I don't see the point of him in the film other than just being a cameo. I didn't appreciate their portrayal of LBJ as Tom Wilkinson. Though his performance was good, they payed no respect to the man who reasoned with MLK in real life and was the one who suggested the march in the first place. It makes me feel like the director is testing the Academy on race.
I didn't feel like the film spoke to me. 12 Years a Slave was my favorite film of last year, that film spoke to me and it told its story more interestingly. In here, it feels like they're just hammering in the white guilt in every scene. I know that's how it really was, but i'm sorry, its just been done to death, we don't need another one. There's preachy scenes that are well done, but it just keeps going back to constant scenes of race violence. 12 Years a Slave had that as well, but it had a stronger narrative for me, about how it's all about survival. In here, they just milk it way too much, especially with LBJ's portrayal. Again, it's not Tom Wilkinson's fault, he acts it well, it's the way he was written. I enjoyed the technical aspects of the film, the performances and editing and what not, but it lacked a solid narrative, and it tried too hard to appeal to the "don't be racist" film lovers. I'm not against those films, but it's overdone here. Still would recommend, but just not for me.