Director: Ava DuVerney
Cast: David Oyelowo, Oprah Winfrey, Common, Tim Roth, Tom Wilkinson
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Rating: 12A
Selma tells the story of the 1965
Selma Voting Rights Movement triggered by Annie Lee Cooper's (Oprah Winfrey) attempt to vote which was a right for all people at the time but made difficult for African Americans in the area. Dr King (David Oyelowo) makes it his priority to ensure that the voting rights are enforced, with a lack of support from the president and the difficulty faced by a southern state the film tells of only one of the battles and struggles which made Dr King the icon and leader of the civil rights movement remembered today.
It is a wise move to not attempt to even begin to tell the full story of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, instead we are given a snap shot of one of the many powerful moments of the civil rights movement.
While everything about Selma screams Oscar, film director Ava DuVerney derails from the usual Hoover-'60s-civil rights-JFK-esque film making which are seen in any attempts of an American history film and creates a masterpiece of her own. The mise-en-scene is there but the greatest power in Selma is in its reluctance to shy away from the barbarity and extreme violence the African american community endured during their quest for enforcement of the equality prescribed to them in the law.
DuVerney's creates a beautiful film which oozes power, passion and lights a fire in the audience. She tells a historic tale, a political complexity and while still remaining relevant to the state of affairs in the US today.
Selma closes in on one moment in American history spanning over only a few months, it throws us into a time where Dr King had already made several progresses in the US and moving from one issue to another. He had made a name for himself, and the celebrity treatment he received is portrayed in the film along with his marital problems and the corruption of American government including some bold statements are made about the presidency of the time.
The Academy has received a lot of criticism this year due to David Oyelowo missing a nomination for best actor in a leading role, hold your rocks when I say this; he's not that great. The problem with the Academy Awards is not that the lead of the civil rights film of the year is missing a nomination, but the problem lies in the assumption that he should have one. Oyelowo is a fine actor, and his deliverance of great Dr King speeches is powerful, but it is greatly thanks to the words.. Selma should be celebrated for its ensemble cast consisting of Carmen Ejogo, Common, Tessa Thompson, Wendell Pierce and more. A great group of actors and actresses representing both the supporters and the opposer of a man who became the voice and leader of the civil rights movement.
Selma is out in UK cinemas on the 6th of February.
