Fruitvale Station is a nice film, well paced and edited, with a strong lead performance by Michael B. Jordan and some standout work by Octavia Spencer. The sound design is particularly noteworthy. The cinema verite camera-work (No, "M. Brand," the visual style here was a choice; well made student films, even cheap ones, generally look better than this) left me underwhelmed for most of the film (and honestly, the mistimed focus pulls were pretty distracting) but paid off big time in the Fruitvale sequence. There the cinematography, editing, sound design, and score combined to create the most gripping ten minutes of film I've seen in a year. I'd recommend Fruitvale on the strength of this sequence alone.
Ryan Coogler admittedly takes some dramatic license with the story. Some of it (the Katie character) works, some (the bit with the dog) comes off heavy-handed. None of it gave me any reason to question the film's "fidelity" to the facts. The unfettered access to Oscar's family, legal documents from the criminal and civil case (including all the video taken on the scene), and the tacit approval of BART (They were allowed to film on the actual BART platform and in their cars!) gives me no reason to believe this film takes any more narrative license with the facts of the Fruitvale incident than many documentaries would.
The film is not perfect though. What the directors don't tell you(FRUITVALE STATION), is that it is a matter of record that since B.A.R.T.'s inception since the 70's, it has been a convenient platform for black youth to hop on over to Union Square,to rob unsuspecting Japanese tourists( wallets, cash, gold jewelry,Nikon cameras,traveler's checks,etc.),& make a quick getaway. Although,judging by the crime reports filed over several decades, I have yet to hear it impacting the S.F. tourism industry. Which should not be welcoming news to people who look like me, as opposed to looking like Oscar Grant.....it's curious that they release this movie during the B.A.R.T. transit worker's strike, is that a coincidence?
Leaves it to being an average fare as it may clash on with different opinions by different people.
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