First and foremost:
Happy (belated) MLK day! For those who were wondering this is actually
celebrating a representation of his birthday, which is actually January 15th.
However, since it’s a national holiday and *insert your political, banking, or
illuminate opinion here*, we celebrate it on the 3rd Monday in January. Coincidentally, my roommate had…”found” a copy of Selma over the weekend, and we decided it was appropriate to pop it
in Sunday evening.
I have to admit I’m not
the biggest biopic fan. The last few years have had some massive nods towards
this genre (The Kings Speech and Lincoln standing out for me) and these have
generally gone by the wayside for me. I’m not a big history buff, so the fact
that there is a lot I will miss in the 2.5+ hours plus these kinds of films
generally run makes them not jump to the top of my “must see list”. Frankly,
when I saw the first trailer for Selma I wasn't too fired up for it, almost for these exact reasons. As the Oscar hype
swirled around David Oyelowo performance and Ava DuVernay direction, I decided that this
would be a good one to break the dry spell.
I first have to say that
the two positives above are spot on. Oyelowo has been a phenomenal character
actor (I specifically remember him doing a great job in the underrated Jack
Reacher), and he clearly steals the show. Interestingly, there are pretty big
segments that don’t have him in the forefront, and each time it cuts away you
immediately want him back in the picture. He has an understated confidence and
power that completely captures your attention on the team. At first I thought
it was going to paint him in a perfect light, showing him as a fearless leader
without a chink in his armor. Again, I’m no history, but from what I’m heard
the movie has a much more realistic portrayal, a man struggling with infidelity
and self-doubt. It’s an interesting take on the figure, and you can clearly see
Oyelowo put a lot of time and thought into this role. I’m sure fans will
comment on Oprah’s character too, but to me she just felt a little stock. Not a
bad performance, just nothing ground breaking.
The other performance
that really stands out is Tim Roth as the racist and heartless Gov. Wallace. He
could have easily turned in a stereotypical “good ole hater boy” role but again
comes across as much more subtle. You can see how he could lead the people and
authorities in Montgomery (and for that matter across the state of Alabama) on his
crusade. It’s a delicate performance that could have easily gone over the top,
but again Roth nails it.
I wasn’t familiar with
the director before this, but her work here really stands out. The specific
scene that draws my memory is the scene of the attack on the bridge. It would
have been easy to make this exploitative and over the top, but the great work
with the obfuscation of the tear gas makes it seem even more intense. The
horses riding in and out of the melee is a pretty scary sight, and the officers
with their gas-mask donned almost look like Stormtroopers or something out of
World War One.
While the movie excelled
on several aspects, it dragged on others. Selma
reeeallllyyy takes its time, having long stretches of characters debating about
actions or showing the hardships of the time. I understand that it is important
to document the time period, but with a movie so focused on a single character
it felt that it wondered a little bit from its purpose.
And I think that may be
the biggest gripe I have with Selma.
Dr. King is such an interesting character you want to see more of his speeches,
more of his issues with his wife, more of everything. I think that DuVernay was
not necessarily trying to make a MLK biography and was trying to paint a
broader picture of racism at the time and location, but I feel that the latter
is more well-known and documented than the life and times of MLK. Like the
Joker in The Dark Knight, every time King left the screen I was a little sad.
Overall, it’s an
interesting take on a massive historical figure and the impact he had on the
US. If it was tightened up a little bit and had more of the amazing Oyelowo, it
would have been one of the best biopics I’ve seen and maybe one of the best
movies of the year. Even with its negatives, it still is worth a view just to
see the parts that really shine.
Grade: B
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