'Selma' Review

Wake-up call

Film review by Isaac Handelman

Shockingly, in the half-century since Martin Luther King Jr. made his impact on history, not a single cinematic biopic has chronicled the life of the legendary reverend until now. After years of neglect, it’s probably for the best that Selma doesn’t try to shed light on the entirety of King’s momentous life. Instead, the film focuses squarely on the events leading up to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights, during which King and his colleagues based their demonstrations out of Selma, Alabama.

Though Selma’s story is confined, its themes are far-reaching, and it succeeds at depicting the importance of the civil rights movement and the ideals of its leaders despite being seemingly small in scope. The film pays as much attention to King as it does to those he motivated and inspired along the way. Its tendency not to focus solely on the leader means that it doesn’t get inside King’s head to quite the extent that some may hope for. As a whole, the film is more of a surface-level examination of the man’s impact and personality than it is an intrinsic examination of his character. By the end, though I certainly felt that I better understood the leader, I didn’t feel like I’d been shown exactly what made him tick.

But that’s not to say Selma doesn’t give any sort of depiction of King’s inner struggles. David Oyelowo delivers an eerily close approximation of King’s confident demeanor and commanding vocal expression. The British actor’s accent does slip on a few occasions, but will only be recognized by those looking for it. Outside of these few moments, the actor is nothing short of phenomenal, his booming energy balancing perfectly with his ability to deliver during quieter instances of raw emotion.

Selma portrays King honestly as the tortured soul that he was. The depiction of King’s immense stress over how best to balance his ambition with the safety of his people, as well as his marital troubles with Coretta (Carmen Ejogo), ensure that viewers are aware of King’s imperfections and view him as a human being instead of a historical figurehead.

The film’s supporting players are all strong, though some of the cast members are rather blatant attention grabbers. For instance, Oprah Winfrey plays Annie Cooper, whose small (though effective) role in the narrative could easily have been tackled by a less familiar face -- and the result could have been improved viewer immersion in the on-screen proceedings. Similarly, Martin Sheen’s brief appearance left me thinking nothing other than, “Hey, it’s Martin Sheen,” a thought not exactly conducive to an engrossing filmgoing experience.

The screenplay is quite well-done and manages to usually remain highly evocative without resorting to melodrama, aside from a few private conversations that sound suspiciously akin to grand speeches. Occasionally, the script tries to extend its reach beyond what its true focus is, such as when Malcolm X is unceremoniously introduced before disappearing almost immediately without having had much of any impact on the narrative’s course.

Though Selma’s script occasionally lapses into Hollywood-ian tendencies, its visuals do not. The film is unquestionably vivid all the way through. Ava DuVarney’s straightforward direction is relatively inconsequential during Selma’s quieter moments, but it sores during the film’s violent outbursts. These sequences do not pull punches, refusing to cut away from the horrific injustices of the era, and securing the legitimacy of the film’s dedication to telling history as it happened.

Even the most stoic of viewers are bound to be driven to an emotional response at some point during Selma’s runtime, whether it’s during a tragic monologue from an elderly, grief-stricken father, or in response to the brutal force used by Selma’s police department to subdue the peaceful protests of King’s followers.

Selma is an emotionally wrenching film with alarmingly relevant subject matter, and though, like its central figure, it may not be flawless, it’s a clear, disconcerting portrayal of the struggles that we still face today.