When Selma first debuted at the AFI fest in November, it was hailed as a masterpiece and immediately thrust to the forefront of the Best Picture race. Critics adored Selma because of its timeliness, humanity and the way that it deconstructed a major figure in history. Leading up to the film's release, there was a lot of controversy about the film's accuracy as well as lack of Oscar nominations that the film received. But despite that whole mess, I came into Selma looking for an interesting and well-made biopic that thoroughly explored the march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. And that's what I got. Selma is a good movie, yet I would hesitate to call it great. It has a brilliant performance from David Oyelowo and several scenes that are extremely haunting and powerful, but it struggles to find a good sense of pacing and it meanders quite a bit at times. Nonetheless, Selma is an important and engaging film that works as an intriguing recreation of an integral moment in history.
Selma takes place over a few weeks in 1965, when Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) began his non-violent protest that demanded equal voting rights. Dr. King's plan was initially to protest strictly in Selma, one of the most racially tense cities in America. King eventually changed the plan and decided to march from Selma to Montgomery, where they would protest at the office of Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth). While all of this is going on, King is also discussing voting legislation with President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) and dealing with his family issues and extra-marital affairs. Selma dives into the mechanics that created one of the most important events in the Civil Rights movements and what Dr. King had to go through to achieve it.
Let's just get this one out of the way early. Selma is this year's Lincoln. It's practically the same movie, just set 100 years later. Lincoln focused on getting the 13th amendment passed, while Selma focuses on voting legislation. And to be honest, I liked both films equally. When I saw Lincoln in 2012, I enjoyed it and admired it, but I have yet to revisit the film and I probably won't anytime soon. It's a great, meticulous recreation of an important historical moment and it features a mesmerizing lead performance from Daniel Day-Lewis. The same thing can be said for Selma. David Oyelowo is fantastic as Dr. King and the film is a thorough exploration of the events in Selma. But it's way too long and too meandering to be called a great film. There are moments of genuine power, but the overall film doesn't quite have the impact that it should.
The cast of Selma does a terrific job of feeling like a true ensemble, but they're undoubtedly led by the brilliant David Oyelowo. The British actor gives a performance that doesn't even feel like a performance. It really felt like Oyelowo was channeling Dr. King and you feel like you're watching a character, not an actor, on screen. It's a shame that this performance didn't get more Oscar attention, because it truly deserved it. Tom Wilkinson has the meatiest supporting part as conflicted leader Lyndon Johnson. While there has been a good amount of controversy around the way that Johnson is portrayed in this film, I thought that Wilkinson still did a fine job.
Carmen Ejogo also gets to show some real depth as Coretta Scott King. In this film, you get to see the way that the movement and King's affairs affected Coretta. It was an interesting way to handle the material and I respect Ava DuVernay for really digging deep and finding some good ways to bring emotional heft to the material. The cast is rounded out by Tim Roth, Tessa Thompson, Common, Wendell Pierce, Dylan Baker, Giovanni Ribisi, Andrew Holland and Oprah Winfrey. It's a massive cast, but each actor contributes a little something to the film.
Selma is a well-acted film, but it struggles in the screenplay and plot structure development. In some ways, the screenplay is incredibly good, with crisp, clean dialogue and some really good character development. But the screenplay struggles with its pacing and structure, jumping around from scene to scene and going on for far longer than it needed to. The film builds up to this big march, but then it suddenly stops in its tracks just as the march begins. At that point, I became slightly frustrated with the film and just wanted it to wrap up. Some of the choices at the end really diluted the film's power and that's disappointing to me.
The film also makes some highly questionable and slightly bizarre soundtrack choices. During some of the more poignant scenes, lyrical music will come on and I was baffled. It was just a poor choice by the filmmakers to have over dramatic singing on in the background during the Bloody Sunday attack. I really don't know what was up with that, but it was one of the film's biggest and most surprising missteps.
Despite those odd mistakes, I came away from this film convinced that Ava DuVernay is a real directorial talent. She has a great eye for strong visuals, but also a gift for bringing depth and humanity to larger-than-life characters. The domestic drama between Dr. King and Coretta is gut-wrenching and compelling and DuVernay handles each scene with grace and maturity. I'm not sure if I would have picked her over Damien Chazelle and David Fincher for Best Director, but she certainly did a fine job (she was better than a few of the Best Director nominees).
Selma's finest achievement is its ability to make Martin Luther King a human being. And it's not obvious. It's not like they have King going around dropping f-bombs all the time. It's just little details that are noticeable. For example, whenever King's friends address him, they always call him "Martin" which I found to be a very nice touch. It brings King down to the human level.
Selma has been slightly overrated by some people. Does that make it a lesser achievement? Of course not. Selma is a very good film in its own right, one that allows us to understand Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights leaders. It has some truly stellar performances and a few scenes that are heart-wrenching and often disturbing. Mix that in with the great filmmaking on display from DuVernay and you have a very good film on your hands. It does run a little long and it gets messy at times, but if you're willing to look past those things, you'll find a pretty satisfying biopic.
THE FINAL GRADE: B (7.4/10)
Image Credits: LA Times, NY Post, Flavorwire, Variety, The Moviehouse
Selma takes place over a few weeks in 1965, when Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) began his non-violent protest that demanded equal voting rights. Dr. King's plan was initially to protest strictly in Selma, one of the most racially tense cities in America. King eventually changed the plan and decided to march from Selma to Montgomery, where they would protest at the office of Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth). While all of this is going on, King is also discussing voting legislation with President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) and dealing with his family issues and extra-marital affairs. Selma dives into the mechanics that created one of the most important events in the Civil Rights movements and what Dr. King had to go through to achieve it.
Let's just get this one out of the way early. Selma is this year's Lincoln. It's practically the same movie, just set 100 years later. Lincoln focused on getting the 13th amendment passed, while Selma focuses on voting legislation. And to be honest, I liked both films equally. When I saw Lincoln in 2012, I enjoyed it and admired it, but I have yet to revisit the film and I probably won't anytime soon. It's a great, meticulous recreation of an important historical moment and it features a mesmerizing lead performance from Daniel Day-Lewis. The same thing can be said for Selma. David Oyelowo is fantastic as Dr. King and the film is a thorough exploration of the events in Selma. But it's way too long and too meandering to be called a great film. There are moments of genuine power, but the overall film doesn't quite have the impact that it should.The cast of Selma does a terrific job of feeling like a true ensemble, but they're undoubtedly led by the brilliant David Oyelowo. The British actor gives a performance that doesn't even feel like a performance. It really felt like Oyelowo was channeling Dr. King and you feel like you're watching a character, not an actor, on screen. It's a shame that this performance didn't get more Oscar attention, because it truly deserved it. Tom Wilkinson has the meatiest supporting part as conflicted leader Lyndon Johnson. While there has been a good amount of controversy around the way that Johnson is portrayed in this film, I thought that Wilkinson still did a fine job.
Carmen Ejogo also gets to show some real depth as Coretta Scott King. In this film, you get to see the way that the movement and King's affairs affected Coretta. It was an interesting way to handle the material and I respect Ava DuVernay for really digging deep and finding some good ways to bring emotional heft to the material. The cast is rounded out by Tim Roth, Tessa Thompson, Common, Wendell Pierce, Dylan Baker, Giovanni Ribisi, Andrew Holland and Oprah Winfrey. It's a massive cast, but each actor contributes a little something to the film.Selma is a well-acted film, but it struggles in the screenplay and plot structure development. In some ways, the screenplay is incredibly good, with crisp, clean dialogue and some really good character development. But the screenplay struggles with its pacing and structure, jumping around from scene to scene and going on for far longer than it needed to. The film builds up to this big march, but then it suddenly stops in its tracks just as the march begins. At that point, I became slightly frustrated with the film and just wanted it to wrap up. Some of the choices at the end really diluted the film's power and that's disappointing to me.
The film also makes some highly questionable and slightly bizarre soundtrack choices. During some of the more poignant scenes, lyrical music will come on and I was baffled. It was just a poor choice by the filmmakers to have over dramatic singing on in the background during the Bloody Sunday attack. I really don't know what was up with that, but it was one of the film's biggest and most surprising missteps.Despite those odd mistakes, I came away from this film convinced that Ava DuVernay is a real directorial talent. She has a great eye for strong visuals, but also a gift for bringing depth and humanity to larger-than-life characters. The domestic drama between Dr. King and Coretta is gut-wrenching and compelling and DuVernay handles each scene with grace and maturity. I'm not sure if I would have picked her over Damien Chazelle and David Fincher for Best Director, but she certainly did a fine job (she was better than a few of the Best Director nominees).
Selma's finest achievement is its ability to make Martin Luther King a human being. And it's not obvious. It's not like they have King going around dropping f-bombs all the time. It's just little details that are noticeable. For example, whenever King's friends address him, they always call him "Martin" which I found to be a very nice touch. It brings King down to the human level.
Selma has been slightly overrated by some people. Does that make it a lesser achievement? Of course not. Selma is a very good film in its own right, one that allows us to understand Martin Luther King and other Civil Rights leaders. It has some truly stellar performances and a few scenes that are heart-wrenching and often disturbing. Mix that in with the great filmmaking on display from DuVernay and you have a very good film on your hands. It does run a little long and it gets messy at times, but if you're willing to look past those things, you'll find a pretty satisfying biopic.
THE FINAL GRADE: B (7.4/10)
Comments
Post a Comment