Fruitvale Station
Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Melonie Diaz
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Reviewed by Brendan Dousi
[rating: 4/5]
Some might remember a few years ago, in the New Year of 2009, riots were breaking out in San Francisco because on New Year’s Eve, the police shot an unarmed, pin-downed man. A lot of you, like myself, may not really remember it at all. There were many digital recordings of the shooting which went viral. A lot of people came to their own conclusions as to what happened. Now, in 2013, Writer/Director Ryan Coogler makes his feature debut by dissecting the final day in the life of Oscar Grant III, the man who was unceremoniously shot by a police officer after a simple night of celebrating the New Year.
Fruitvale Station opens with the real-life camera-phone footage of a group of men being detained by police officers, the video is hazy and it’s unclear what’s going on, but what is clear is that one police officer has one man pinned down while another pulls out his gun and shoots the man in the back. The rest of the film follows around Oscar Grant III (Michael B. Jordan), a down on his luck guy who’s trying desperately to patch up the relationship with Sophina (Melonie Diaz), the mother of his child, and trying to break free from a life of bad habits and petty crimes. He’s obviously a fantastic father to his adorable daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal) and wants to do right by her, but is a young man struggling to escape a pattern of self-destruction that not only plagues him, but many other young people around him. Oscar spends the rest of his day trying to make the right choices and set a path for himself that leads into greener pastures while preparing for his long-suffering Mother’s (Octavia Spencer) birthday party that evening. Of course, while you watch this young man try and get his life in order and better himself for those around him, you are burdened with the knowledge that this ill-fated young man is still going to end up on that train platform in Fruitvale Station…
Fruitvale Station is an impressive first feature from Ryan Coogler, it has impeccable pacing for the most part, building slowly and gradually to that conclusion you know is bound to come around eventually. He weaves a story around this man you can’t help but feel a connection with as each minute the dread grows heavier and heavier on your heart as the film heads steadily to its end. More than anything, it was an intimate character study of a doomed young man just trying desperately to get his life on the right track, all of which was greatly complemented by the close, almost claustrophobic way the film was shot. The film did get clunky at certain points, mostly when they were trying to drive home the ‘he’s such a good dad’ idea and certain scenes towards the end of the film that stretched a little too long and only seemed there to service Octavia Spencer’s Mother character. You may also find yourself a little taken out of the film at how serendipitously the events all play out, but this isn’t a complete detriment to the film, almost giving it all a sense of poetic-injustice. However, these are a few little bumps in an otherwise impressive film.
The performances were top-notch for the most part, this is definitely a career-defining role for Michael B. Jordan who will no doubt soon find himself flung into the world of ‘A-list’ acting and Hollywood blockbusters. Octavia Spencer as Oscar’s Mother portrayed a heart-broken mother fantastically, but in other moments felt a little stiff in her performance. With everyone else having such raw performances, Octavia Spencer sometimes felt a little too polished which at times made her performance feel a bit hit and miss.
With minimal hiccoughs, a fantastic tone and a constant heart-breaking dread, Fruitvale Station is an extremely affecting movie that will no doubt have you thinking and discussing for days after. The less you research before the film the better. Go in raw, especially if you’re after a film with some actual weight to it.
