Where do I even begin with this one? I thought Before Midnight was amazing but this blows even that out of the water. This is a definite contender for the best movie of the year.
Fruitvale Station's backbone is its ability to immerse the audience in its characters. Oscar Grant is built up to be a likable, if flawed, person-you sympathize with him; you want him to survive. The movie shows his life to be in a bad place, but filled with hope. It establishes his relationship with the people around him. But, as you know how it ends from the start, all of the happy moments are just as devastating as the sad ones.
This movie wouldn't work as well if all the actors weren't as good as they are, but each one plays their part flawlessly. In particular, Michael B. Jordan should win some academy awards for his depiction of Oscar Grant. The performances are powerful and engaging, and help make the characters more engaging-thus making the eventual conclusion all the more distressing.
That said, not everything in the movie is depressing-Oscar's relationship with his daughter is adorable, and there's a lot of fun scenes where he interacts with his friends. But it's the movie's uncompromising nature that makes it so amazing. It shows this man with much of his life ahead of him, but had it prematurely taken from him.
In case I-or any of the swathes of other positive reviewers-haven't made this clear, you need to see this movie. It is a masterpiece.
No comments:
Post a Comment