Selma Movie Review

My Best Picture countdown comes to an end with my long awaited viewing of Selma...

Selma is directed by Ava DuVernay and stars David Oyelowo and essentially tells the story of how Martin Luther King campaigned for the right for black people to vote by staging a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. While it has gained unanimous praise from critics and scored a Best Picture nomination, people have been disappointed that Oyelowo and DuVernay were snubbed at the Oscars. I have to admit that this disappointment has been justified.

David Oyelowo's performance as Martin Luther King is so good and so refined that he actually becomes the glue that binds this film together, and whenever he is not on screen and time is devoted fully to supporting characters, Selma is not at its best. Oyelowo nails everything in terms of dramatic weight and emotion, but he also transforms himself into this character through the various mannerisms and speech patterns he adopts. He became what I understood Martin Luther King was.

But what I loved the most about Selma was how it never victimised or villainized its characters. Selma showed us Martin Luther King the man, not Martin Luther King the American icon and revolutionary activist. While the film was about prejudice against black people and general racist attitudes that prevented black people from voting, for me it never made one skin colour the "good guys" and the other "the bad". As I said, Selma shows us Martin Luther King the man, with all of his flaws and imperfections. It didn't portray the white man as evil, it actually showed some white people joining in with the march. I really appreciate it when films do this with their characters, unlike in some films where there's a clear agenda being set with its good and evil characters *cough* AMERICAN SNIPER *cough*.

Selma creeps up on you emotionally and dramatically. It keeps you engaged with its characters and the acting performances are all good to fantastic. It also is a film, that for me, continues to get better the more and more I think about it. It isn't a film which requires hundreds of viewings, but it's both entertaining and immersive, which is all you want, and this is thanks to Ava DuVernay's direction.

DuVernay directs this film with a surprising amount of style while still maintaining the film's emotional substance. The cinematography is intimate and synonymously grand. Focus and lighting used for close up shots are also utilised brilliantly. Also, printed text on the screen is used in the film in a way which did not feel like a gimmick. I'm usually one to bash films for doing just that, but Selma did not bother me at all.

What did bother me was the use of super slow motion. There'd be an effective dramatic scene playing out and then it would just cut to slo mo all of a sudden. Don't get me wrong I love me a bit of slo mo, but in Selma it detracted the tension and the drama to the point where omitting it would've been more effective.

As I said I don't think its a film which requires multiple viewings and it isn't for the casual movie goers. But if you like a well told dramatic story with some Oscar calibre acting, then you should check out Selma if you haven't done so already.


Rating - B+

Thanks for reading,
Matt