![]() ![]() Kidnapping and torture are grim subjects for a family drama, and director Denis Villeneuve supplies tons of moody atmosphere to support the focused work of its actors, which also includes fine supporting turns from Terrence Howard, Viola Davis and Maria Bello. The new crime thriller “Prisoners,” however, starring Hugh Jackman as a desperate father and Jake Gyllenhaal as the single-minded detective trying to find Jackman’s missing daughter, creates three-dimensional characters and then casts them aside for a drawn-out third act that lessens the impact of the entire film. In that way, Jordan and Coogler have succeeded in a way that few movies have. “Fruitvale Station” is not a factual account of one day, it represents an entire three-dimensional life, and one that isn’t represented in film that often. Whether that moment was achieved in the totality of one day in real life is irrelevant. He has a quick temper, he’s cheated on his girlfriend, and has made some extremely poor decisions that have led him to this moment. Also, a brief scene with Tatiana before Oscar goes out for the night makes Coogler’s strings a bit too visible.īut Oscar isn’t a saint either. A brief fictionalized scene with a stray pit bull serves as an allegory for young, misunderstood black men everywhere, and it is carried out with the film’s prevailing naturalism, but its very inclusion seems too on the nose. These moments subtly ask tough questions about racial perception and ring of truth.Īt its worst, some of “Fruitvale Station”‘s constant foreshadowing can become a little heavy-handed. Oscar meets a couple of white strangers throughout the day, and the unspoken tension in their interaction is palpable, even as the conversation goes from civil to genuinely helpful. When it is at its best, the movie has a rich subtext. Coogler doesn’t necessarily rely on plot, but instead creates a deeply felt portrait of everyday life for a young black man. Since “Fruitvale Station” opens with actual cellphone footage of the fatal incident, these interactions are imbued with the weight of that knowledge. The conversations are casual and unforced, but they tell the story of a man coming to terms with his adulthood and responsibilities. The day begins with Oscar’s girlfriend Sophina ( Melonie Diaz) and their daughter Tatiana ( Ariana Neal) and continues as he makes contact with various family members and friends. (There are also some brief flashback sequences with Oscar’s mother, played by Octavia Spencer, that fill in his criminal history.) For the “day in the life” device that the film is built upon to work, liberties have to be taken to tell a well-rounded story - all in the span of that fateful day. There are scenes that were fabricated for the movie, but the emotional truth behind them feels real. But he was a person, not a statistic, and “Fruitvale Station” ably captures the contradictions in his character, with a heavy leaning toward the positive side. He was an ex-con who had recently been fired from his job at a grocery store and had already served time for dealing drugs. On the surface, it may be easy for some to characterize Grant. This isn’t the story of two people and their chance trajectories ending in tragedy. ![]() Coogler’s intention, however, is clear: to give voice and dignity to Oscar. Any way you look at it, Grant’s shooting is an awful tragedy that sparks all kinds of debate about the police. Jordan and because of the film’s singular focus and Jordan’s natural charisma, it is a deeply sympathetic portrayal. In the wake of the George Zimmerman verdict, it’s impossible not to draw parallels and understand that there is a deeply rooted problem with race in this country. ![]() Director Ryan Coogler’s debut feature profiles one day in the life of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old black man who unarmed when he was shot in the back by a white cop on a subway platform in Oakland in 2009. This weekend Liberty Hall opens “Fruitvale Station,” an undeniably powerful movie that won the top prize at Sundance earlier this year. ![]()
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