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Who was Oscar Grant? The answer may vary depending who you ask. A young man from Hayward, California? a good co-worker? a black man? a troublemaker? a pothead? an ex-convict? Despite whatever labels one might feel compelled to apply to him, there are some that we can say are facts. Oscar Grant was a son, a friend, a boyfriend, and a father of a young girl.
Based in real life events, Fruitvale Station follows the events surrounding Grant's death at the hands of two police officers at the titular train station. Grant (Michael B. Jordan), who was coming from celebrating New Year's Eve with his girlfriend and friends was either involved or in the vicinity of a fight on the train, which resulted in the police detaining him along with others, when one of them shot him in the back as he was lying down.
This is the directorial debut from Ryan Coogler. He was interested in developing the project since he was a film student at the University of Southern California. According to Coogler, he "wanted the audience to get to know this guy, to get attached". Through the film, we get to see a snapshot of Grant's life during the day before his death, as well as some flashbacks. One of the decisions that I respect from Coogler, who also wrote the script, is that he didn't try to paint Grant as some sort of "angel". Instead, we get to see different facets of him: as a friend, as a boyfriend, as a convict, and as a father. And even though he might not be perfect in any of those roles, he seems to be trying to make things work out.
Even though the film veers close to melodrama at some points, it never tips over. It also feels a bit overlong, but Coogler manages to keep it together for the most part. But if there's anything deserving of praise here, it's Jordan's performance. He is so effortlessly good in the role, without overselling the part. Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz are also pretty good as Grant's mother and girlfriend, respectively.
As is expected, the death of Grant and the ensuing trial of the two policemen involved resulted in protests and riots, mostly aimed at what was seen as a tame conviction to only one of the officers. Regardless of what one might think about the events and the aftermath, it's important that we know who Oscar Grant was, and that we know that on that day, in an event that probably could've been easily avoided, a mother lost her son, a girlfriend lost her boyfriend, and a daughter lost her father. That was Oscar Grant.
Grade:
FRUITVALE STATION
(2013, Coogler)
A film with a title that starts with E or F
(2013, Coogler)
A film with a title that starts with E or F
"I'm tired. Thought I could start over fresh, but... s**t ain't workin' out."
Who was Oscar Grant? The answer may vary depending who you ask. A young man from Hayward, California? a good co-worker? a black man? a troublemaker? a pothead? an ex-convict? Despite whatever labels one might feel compelled to apply to him, there are some that we can say are facts. Oscar Grant was a son, a friend, a boyfriend, and a father of a young girl.
Based in real life events, Fruitvale Station follows the events surrounding Grant's death at the hands of two police officers at the titular train station. Grant (Michael B. Jordan), who was coming from celebrating New Year's Eve with his girlfriend and friends was either involved or in the vicinity of a fight on the train, which resulted in the police detaining him along with others, when one of them shot him in the back as he was lying down.
This is the directorial debut from Ryan Coogler. He was interested in developing the project since he was a film student at the University of Southern California. According to Coogler, he "wanted the audience to get to know this guy, to get attached". Through the film, we get to see a snapshot of Grant's life during the day before his death, as well as some flashbacks. One of the decisions that I respect from Coogler, who also wrote the script, is that he didn't try to paint Grant as some sort of "angel". Instead, we get to see different facets of him: as a friend, as a boyfriend, as a convict, and as a father. And even though he might not be perfect in any of those roles, he seems to be trying to make things work out.
Even though the film veers close to melodrama at some points, it never tips over. It also feels a bit overlong, but Coogler manages to keep it together for the most part. But if there's anything deserving of praise here, it's Jordan's performance. He is so effortlessly good in the role, without overselling the part. Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz are also pretty good as Grant's mother and girlfriend, respectively.
As is expected, the death of Grant and the ensuing trial of the two policemen involved resulted in protests and riots, mostly aimed at what was seen as a tame conviction to only one of the officers. Regardless of what one might think about the events and the aftermath, it's important that we know who Oscar Grant was, and that we know that on that day, in an event that probably could've been easily avoided, a mother lost her son, a girlfriend lost her boyfriend, and a daughter lost her father. That was Oscar Grant.
Grade: