Selma (2014) [Blu-ray]
Biography | Drama | History

Tagline: One dream can change the world.

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.

Storyline: The unforgettable true story 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 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 story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history. Written by Miss W J Mcdermott

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, April 23, 2015 -- We must make a massive demonstration of our moral certainty.

Controversy swirled around Selma for a time following its release, not for its depiction of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. or the march on Selma itself but for its portrayal of President Lyndon B. Johnson and the film's depiction of an unmistakable rift between the president and the civil rights leader, a depiction that's been criticized and defended in a back-and-forth battle between historians and the filmmakers. The film also sparked discussion centered on the issue of race, about the racial makeup of the Academy and the body's failure to nominate star David Oyelowo for Best Actor in a field historically dominated by white actors, and in last year's balloting in particular. One anonymous Academy member faintly praised the movie's technical construction but claimed that a broader perception of the film is that "there's no art to it." Best to leave the discussion of the film's historical accuracy to the people who research history for a living and didn't just study it in school, but as for the final two criticisms, there's certainly some validity to each of them. Oyelowo is indeed fantastic in the movie, easily its standout performer and, beyond the raw emotional content depicted in the film, arguably its single best asset. At the very least, he should have been a short-list frontrunner for the Oscar itself, not simply for a nomination he ultimately didn't receive. But the film does also lack a real sense of profundity and rarely does it ever truly ooze the history it depicts. While it's emotionally engaging and narratively gripping, the film lacks a grace and polish and flow that truly brings the audience into world of segregated Alabama and into the minds of the characters depicted in the movie. It takes the audience to the locations, into the trenches, so to speak, of the politicking and planning and sometimes almost prayerful pleas for clarity and direction, but it feels somehow distant, showing and telling the audience but never quite fully absorbing the audience into the story. Essentially, it feels a bit flat, regurgitating history but not filling it with the tangible life and power a story of this magnitude, and a performance of this excellence, deserve.

That doesn't make Selma in any way a bad movie. It's largely excellent if not a bit scattered in the beginning, coming together as the scope of the situation is fully realized and the film digs deeply into the minds and actions of the people coming at the issue from all sides. It's triumphant in its core depiction of the inner strength, outer courage, lofty ideals, and necessary persistence in King and the people he surrounds himself with. Perhaps the finest moment comes when King finds himself in a Selma jail cell and openly concerned with not whether the movement is doing right but whether it's doing enough, if mere paper-level equality is worth the fight or if there's more that needs to be done, in King's words, whether the right to sit at the lunch counter is worth the sacrifice if those newly freed people cannot afford to buy a meal or, perhaps worse, even read what's available to them on the menu.

It's these deeper bits of contemplative character analysis and broader examination of the entire civili rights movement, much of it encapsulated in the marches across Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge and the various bits of strategizing and behind-the-scenes developments that made it happen, that make the movie a success and the real history behind it so fascinating. While the film doesn't always quite get to the point that history feels fully alive -- despite Oyelowo's superb performance -- it does do a fine job of peeling back the curtain and offering the audience a glimpse that's a bit more in-depth and vibrant than dry recounts in texts or poorly defined black and white newsreel footage, even as the film feels more procedural than organic. Fortunately, the raw power of the people and their story elevates the film far above its base technical merits, but Selma feels like it could have been more.

Selma, even for the historical richness of its story and the relevancy of its message of equality, wouldn't work anywhere near as well as it does without David Oyelowo. Around him, the movie is fairly dry, competently assembled but absent a real heart or purpose beyond its historical recreations. Oyelowo, on the other hand, embodies King with a stature and presence befitting the legend and the light of his message, persistence, courage, and moral clarity. Oyelowo looks and sounds the part, critical in any performance of this nature but he rightly, and necessarily, goes well beyond an outward recreation. He finds the underlying spirit, sense of purpose, and the great significance in every line and movement as King is both inwardly and outwardly challenged, as he and his allies seek to advance their cause and their opponents seek to hinder, both on the streets and behind closed doors. Oyelowo's portrayal brings a far greater sense of history, of character, of being to the part than one could have realistically conceived, not so much in his replication of King but instead in finding that drive, that fire, that soulful understanding of the human condition and the vision and determination to see real equality in his time. Oyelowo doesn't necessarily make King a hero, not in the costume-and-cape sense of the term, but rather he makes him a man, breathes a tangible, approachable, very real and naturally defined essence into a character many know but many may not fully understand. It's a shame the movie around him isn't tighter, more thoroughly defined, and engrossing. With a near perfect movie behind him, Selma would easily be remembered as one of the greats, but as it is this is still an excellent movie in Oyelowo's astonishingly capable hands.

Selma is a little dry and visually unremarkable, but the movie's essence soars and its lead performance is every bit as good as any historical figure depiction in film history. Though controversy swirls around the movie, it rises above the fray, offering a thoughtful recreation with themes that run true and ideas that remain relevant even today. But the movie is entirely Oyelowo's. The actor is magnificent in his physical depiction but it's beyond that in his inner recreation of one of the most iconic figure in American, and world, history, that's the film's true triumph. Set aside the noise and discover a strong movie that could have been more but, as it is, is a captivating watch that rises above type and should find appeal with a broader audience interested not only in flat historical accounts but a nuanced performance that brings life to a legend. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Selma is a victim of the film's drab photography, but sound is fine and supplements are thorough. Recommended.

[CSW] -3.6- I agree with this reviewer:
A good film however with flaws. First, as many have noted David Oyelowo is fantastic as King; definitely a role deserving of awards. The script is probably to blame for the film's shortcomings. Having worked in Alabama's Black Belt on voting rights and poverty issues for many years I think the film misses much of what could have been a more powerful film and that is the strength of the majority of the black community of Selma, Dallas County and the surrounding areas. SNCC and SCLC and Dr. King certainly deserve credit, however the sacrifices of the black community in the months and years leading up to this moment could have been incorporated into the film to provide more honesty. Somewhat of a minor flaw is that the Selma march impetus really came from the murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson which took place not in Selma but in Marion, Alabama in neighboring Perry County. However, it is important that large numbers of people in the US need to understand at least the outline of what took place in Selma, Alabama, the south and nation and at least the film provides some historical background on this period. Could have been a lot better film though...

[V3.5-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.

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