I won't go into further details about the plot of Selma because you need to see it unfold on the screen for yourself. Director Ava DuVernay has done a simply awe-inspiring job of constructing a movie that is both compelling yet difficult to watch. There are shocking moments when you feel like you have been brutally tricked into witnessing something you never saw coming and then other moments when you feel uplifted and roused by the powerful rhetoric of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the men and women who are fighting so hard to change the world. King is played by David Oyelowo, an actor who ought to be winning awards left and right for this performance but seems to have been unconscionably snubbed. He fully captures the magnetism and power of the man and the strength of his convictions; every time he got on a podium and started to speak, I wanted to stand up and cheer.
Apart from the speeches, however, DuVernay and Paul Webb's intelligent script manages to capture the more subtle theater of orchestrating these civil rights campaigns and figuring out the logistics of where a protest will be most effective and have the greatest impact. King's conversations with President Johnson (played very effectively by Tom Wilkinson) are vital to demonstrating the administration's initial hesitations and the push that was needed to get the Voting Rights Act passed in Congress. More importantly, King's conversations with his fellow activists highlight the complexities of the fight and the difficulty of focusing on just one issue when the injustices were so widespread. Selma features a truly wonderful ensemble cast, including Carmen Ejogo, Andre Holland, Common, Wendell Pierce, Oprah Winfrey, and more, all of whom represent key players in the civil rights movement who had tremendously important roles. They have their own private battles, victories and defeats, but they are all united in this show of non-violent protest to demand their right to participate in their democracy. In fact, King is far from being the hero of the piece; it is abundantly clear that this is a movement that depended on many heroic men and women to bring about social change.
Selma is shot beautifully, edited meticulously, and crafted with care. The soundtrack is particularly effective, featuring several different genres of music that are all equally evocative and come in at just the right moment for every key scene of the film. By focusing on such a specific period of history, rather than trying to encompass all of King's life, the movie manages to capture so much more nuance and detail about the struggle for civil rights and the accompanying heartbreaks and successes. It is a wonderfully acted, thoughtful, and engaging look at an incredibly fraught period in American history. It offers a glimpse at the very human man behind the legend of Dr. King, and while it is not overly critical of the people involved, it certainly exposes them all as human beings with their individual fears and failings.
Apart from the speeches, however, DuVernay and Paul Webb's intelligent script manages to capture the more subtle theater of orchestrating these civil rights campaigns and figuring out the logistics of where a protest will be most effective and have the greatest impact. King's conversations with President Johnson (played very effectively by Tom Wilkinson) are vital to demonstrating the administration's initial hesitations and the push that was needed to get the Voting Rights Act passed in Congress. More importantly, King's conversations with his fellow activists highlight the complexities of the fight and the difficulty of focusing on just one issue when the injustices were so widespread. Selma features a truly wonderful ensemble cast, including Carmen Ejogo, Andre Holland, Common, Wendell Pierce, Oprah Winfrey, and more, all of whom represent key players in the civil rights movement who had tremendously important roles. They have their own private battles, victories and defeats, but they are all united in this show of non-violent protest to demand their right to participate in their democracy. In fact, King is far from being the hero of the piece; it is abundantly clear that this is a movement that depended on many heroic men and women to bring about social change.
Selma is shot beautifully, edited meticulously, and crafted with care. The soundtrack is particularly effective, featuring several different genres of music that are all equally evocative and come in at just the right moment for every key scene of the film. By focusing on such a specific period of history, rather than trying to encompass all of King's life, the movie manages to capture so much more nuance and detail about the struggle for civil rights and the accompanying heartbreaks and successes. It is a wonderfully acted, thoughtful, and engaging look at an incredibly fraught period in American history. It offers a glimpse at the very human man behind the legend of Dr. King, and while it is not overly critical of the people involved, it certainly exposes them all as human beings with their individual fears and failings.
The most sobering thing about Selma, of course, is how relevant it feels to the present day. Back in 1965, people were claiming that race was no longer a problem in America since African Americans had the right to vote. The Selma marches were a reminder that having the right to vote was not the same as actually being able to vote. Now, in 2015, we still live in an America where people claim to be living in a post-racial society while unarmed black teenagers are unlawfully killed and voter ID laws come back into effect to disenfranchise poor minority voters. Selma is a brilliant look at what tenacious and intelligent people achieved in the 60s, but it is a reminder of how much still remains to be achieved in the 21st century. We shall overcome some day, but not today.
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