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| David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo (r) star in Selma |
We Shall Overcome
Rotten Tomatoes Plot: Selma is the story of a movement. The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay's Selma tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.
DuVernay pulls few punches in Selma, an incredibly uplifting (yet simultaneously jarring) film that simply must be seen, especially amidst today's headlines. It's not perfect (history never is) but Selma does a great job of summarizing one of King's most famous battles. It has that "Hollywood touch," but still manages to showcase King's unrivaled diligence... "Negotiate, demonstrate and resist." Johnson and MLK are both larger-than-life characters; yet I've never seen them played so well. In fact, Wilkinson might be my choice for Best Supporting Actor. LBJ casually refers to it as "this voting thing," but Selma proves much, much more.
Grade: B+
