Selma, the latest film from director Ava DuVernay is a powerhouse of a movie. The subject matter is known to almost every American and every citizen around the globe over a certain age and it's the kind of film that should be required viewing of the younger generation. Selma is packed with amazing performances by a truly talented cast and it's quickly become one of my favorite movies of 2014. Because of that, I give Selma four and a half buckets of Killer Korn.Now I have seen movies regarding the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and they have all fallen short in one major way or another. They either suffered from hero worship and focused on his accomplishments strictly and failed at every turn to show the humanity of the man or they were disjointed messes that wanted to cover everything King had ever done from the cradle to the grave. The beauty and the genius of director Ava DuVernay's Selma is that it centers around one incident in the struggle and fight for Civil Rights. It takes a pivotal moment out of King's life and tells the story of that period with style and grace, not pomp and circumstance. Selma is the movie so many other King films should have been, one the focused on the man and his team as they made demands of Lyndon B. Johnson to pass legislation that would help end discrimination across this country and making demands on the people of this country to look themselves in the mirror and discover what was truly in their hearts.
I am a very big fan of David Oyelowo and while his portrayal of King was not convincing, it was the best one since the late great Paul Winfield's in the 1978 mini-series King. King is a hard man to play due to his distinctive cadence. He spoke slow and deliberately, never wasting a word and I can't imagine how hard that must be to pull off for an actor. Carmen Ejogo play Coretta Scott King and she was marvelous. If Coretta was anything like Carmen's portrayal of her then there was no way King could have failed. Tim Roth, Giovanni Ribisi, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Wilkinson, Wendell Pierce, Common and so many other wonderful actors comprised the talented cast Ava had to work with. The movie starts off with two seminal moments, King winning the Nobel Peace Prize and the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church that killed four little girls. The film's intensity never waned and only grew stronger as the story unfolded. Although I do feel there were a few missed opportunities that Ava could have-with creative license taken advantage of-Selma is a resounding film about King's march across the Edmund Pettis Bridge. The screenplay by first time writer Paul Webb is phenomenal. It's tight, humorous, and above all focused. There are many characters in this film with their own voices and personalities and not one of them was short changed. Paul may have to clear his calender, I'm sure Hollywood will come knocking on his door very soon if they aren't already.
Now while there is a lot of love to be given out to the cast and crew, I have to give the production design team and set decorator Elizabeth Keenan and costume designer Ruth E. Carter a standing ovation. The look of this movie hinged on those two women's shoulders and they did one amazing job. The clothes looked like they were straight off the rack of some 1960's department store and the appliances, furniture, cars, wall paper, and phones had to have been nearly impossible to find and yet, there they were. The cinematography by Bradford Young was impeccable. The camera's placement and movement captured all the angst, violence, tragedies and triumphs so well that you felt like you were there yourself, as if you could reach out and touch King's shoulder. The score by first time composer Jason Moran was moving and timely. It wasn't overdone or melodramatic. It added to the images on the screen and it didn't pull you out of the moment with being bombastic or overreaching. Selma may bring tears to your eyes so bring tissues dammit, okay? You never listen to me. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this movie as much as I did and who knows, it may end up on your list of favorite movies of 2014 as well. I'll see you at that theater.
