Fruitvale Station (FILM REVIEW)
Fruitvale Station
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Bittersweet Biopic Recounts Final Hours in Oscar Grant’s
Life
Oscar Grant (Michael
B. Jordan) and his girlfriend,
Sophina (Melonie Diaz), were returning to Oakland
in the wee hours of the morning after attending a New Year’s Eve 2009 celebration when their
crowded train was stopped by police in response to a report of a disturbance.
Oscar was among a number of male passengers ordered onto the platform at
Fruitvale Station, where he was initially allowed to sit quietly with his back
against the wall.
However, he was subsequently ordered
to lie on his stomach so that he could be handcuffed and placed under arrest. When
he resisted, a struggle ensued during which Oscar could be heard begging not to
be Tasered as a cop yelling “bitch-ass [N-word]” forced him to the ground.
Another officer pulled out a pistol
and proceeded to shoot unarmed Oscar in the back, prompting the mortally-wounded
young father to exclaim, “I got a 4 year-old daughter!” The entire incident was
captured on a cell phone by a fellow straphanger who posted the video on
Youtube, thereby instantly turning the controversial slaying into an
international cause célèbre.
Had Oscar been callously executed or
accidentally killed by a cop who had merely mistaken his .40 caliber weapon for
his stun gun? Guilt or innocence, a matter ultimately left for a jury to
decide, is not the primary focus of Fruitvale
Station.
Instead,
this bittersweet biopic seeks to humanize the
very colorful Oscar Grant by chronicling the serendipitous series of events
leading up to his untimely demise. The film unfolds over the course of the last
day in the charming 22 year-old’s abbreviated life, a period during which he interacts
affectionately with Sophina, their daughter (Ariana Neal), his
mother (Octavia Spencer), pals, strangers
and other relatives.
For
instance, we see Oscar inform his disappointed girlfriend that he’s lost his
job as a clerk at the local supermarket. Later, he tucks tiny Tatiana into bed
and promises to take her to Chuck E. Cheese the next day. And he ominously
takes to heart his mom’s erroneous presumption that riding the train would be a
lot safer than driving to San
Francisco that fateful night.
Already
winning awards at both the Cannes
and Sundance Film Festivals, Fruitvale Station marks the remarkable writing and
directorial debut of Ryan Coogler. A recent USC School of Cinematic Arts grad,
the gifted 27 year-old exhibits the talents of a seasoned veteran here, crafting
a character-driven
tale that’s touching and emotionally-engaging without resort to either
sentimentality or melodrama.
Some of the
credit must also go to Michael B. Jordan for his compelling, warts-and-all portrayal of Oscar, a complicated soul
with perhaps as many positive attributes as faults. The support cast deserves a
share of accolades, too, for ensuring that the palpable production, one well
grounded in a sobering, inner-city reality, never hits a false note.
Whether
Oscar Grant deserves to be remembered as a martyr or a provocateur, this poignant
portrait of him as a flawed free-spirit is moving enough to be remembered come Academy Awards season.
Excellent
(4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 85 minutes
Distributor: The
Weinstein Company
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