I postponed our January outing to the second Tuesday of the month for two reasons. One was because a lot of Movie Club members told me they were still crazy-busy with post-holiday chores. The second, and most important reason, was that I wanted us to see
Selma, which just arrived in Toronto.
This film is, of course, a biopic about the history-making marches in Alabama led by Martin Luther King in 1965 to shine a spotlight on how African-Americans, especially in the south, were being prevented from voting by violence and trickery.
We'll be seeing
Selma at the Yonge-Dundas Cineplex-Odeon on Tues., Jan. 13. Screen time is 1:50, so let's meet near the upstairs box office about 20 minutes earlier.
Two things before I post a trailer and synopsis for
Selma. One is that the number of Movie Club members just soared past the 100 mark. Lots of movie lovers at LIFE!
Also, I don't know if any other bloggers dedicate their posts, but I'm doing so now: To
Jerry Walker, who died suddenly on November 2nd. Not only was Jerry an enthusiastic Movie Club member, a gifted storyteller for years in Recording Recollections, and one of LIFE's most popular class leaders, he actually took part in the Selma marches. His daughters told us at a memorial for Jerry last month that when he was a young educator in California in 1965, their father dropped everything and scrounged up the money to travel to Alabama to join in the protests. They also said that he rarely spoke about his participation because, he said, he didn't want it to sound like bragging. Good-bye, Jerry, you are sorely missed!
Selma Trailer: http://www.cinemaclock.com/trailers/ont/Toronto/199709/Selma.html
Roger Ebert Website:
In a perfect world, “Selma” would exist solely as a depiction
of darker days long since past, an American history lesson that
concludes with reassurances that its horrors will no longer be
perpetrated, tolerated nor celebrated. Alas, perfection eludes us on
this mortal, earthly plane; “Selma” shows the evolution of change while
beaming a spotlight on the stunted growth of that which has not changed.
Its timeliness is a spine-chilling reminder that those who do not know
their history are doomed to repeat it. Its story provides a blueprint
not only of the past, but of the way forward.
There’s a reason why
Ava DuVernay’s film is called “Selma” and not “King”. Like Spielberg’s “
Lincoln”,
“Selma” is as much about the procedures of political maneuvering,
in-fighting and bargaining as it is about the chief orchestrator of the
resulting deals. “Selma” affords Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the same
human characteristics of humor, frustration and exhaustion that
“Lincoln” provided its President. This relatable humanity elevates
King’s actions and his efforts. It inspires by suggesting that the
reverence for Dr. King was bestowed on a person no different than any of
us. If he can provoke change, we have no excuse not to as well.
As King,
David Oyelowo is a revelation. Like
Anthony Hopkins in “
Nixon”,
he channels the essence of his character rather than a dead-on visual
interpretation. In recreating King’s speaking voice, Oyelowo resists the
preacherly curlicues one might be inclined to use based on hearing
King’s speeches. Like any good pastor, Oyelowo saves those cadences for
his speech scenes, the last of which is so stirring and powerful it
knocks the air out of your lungs. Oyelowo channels a conflicted King, a
tired man with the weight of the movement on his shoulders, then merges
that with defiance, humor, strength and strategic expertise. In
Oyelowo’s excellent performance, King becomes a complex, flawed man
whose faith in God kept him from utter despair.
Known for her superb indie dramas “
I Will Follow” and “
Middle of Nowhere”,
DuVernay has proven herself a master of small, intimate moments.
“Selma” never loses focus on the interpersonal dynamics between King and
his followers, his detractors and his family. While touching base with
details on SNCC, the SCLC and the organization of the Selma to
Montgomery Marches, DuVernay gives memorable scenes to a wide variety of
character actors in real-life roles.
Andre Holland’s Andrew Young, Stephan James’ John Lewis,
Colman Domingo’s Rev. Abernathy and Common’s James Bevel stand out, but eagle-eyed viewers will also notice “
Dear White People”’s
Tessa Thompson, Cuba Gooding, Jr.,
Martin Sheen and
Wendell Pierce. Even comedian
Niecy Nash shows up as a gracious, funny host who invites King and his cohorts into her home.
“Selma”
continues DuVernay’s exploration of female empowerment by devoting time
to King’s marriage to Coretta Scott King (a powerful
Carmen Ejogo).
We’re reminded that the movement is as hard on her as it is for her
husband, especially since she is home with the kids and the constant
victim of harassment from citizens and the government. In one of the
film’s best scenes, King is asked a very hard question by his wife. The
actors and the director take their time here, with Oyelowo and Ejogo
silently and masterfully working the uncomfortable pause between
question and answer. In another very good scene, Coretta Scott King
meets with Malcolm X (a convincing Nigel Thatch), and their dialogue is
an informative piece of strategizing.
In addition to reminding us
how good she is with drama, DuVernay puts Hollywood on notice by
mastering huge sequences heretofore unseen in her work. Her staging of
“Bloody
Sunday” on the Edmund Pettis bridge is a
spectacular mini-movie that could stand on its own as a short. Narrated
by a journalist calling in the story, the scene takes on documentarian
proportions. With this scene, and her horrific staging of the 16
th Street
Baptist Church bombing, DuVernay and her editor Spencer Averick make
you feel the intensity and chaotic terror of the violence. Dozens of
kneeling, peaceful protests fill the screen end to end, and the
juxtaposition between the historical depiction on the movie screen and
the current images on today’s TV screens does not go unnoticed.
During the fight for voter rights, King has several meetings with President Johnson (a jarring but effective
Tom Wilkinson). Their scenes, and Johnson’s scenes with J. Edgar Hoover (
Dylan Baker)
focus on the political gamesmanship required to bring about change.
“Selma” points out the media’s role in influencing the hearts and minds
of the American people, and how easily that can be manipulated. King
knows about this media power, and how his team handles it is a precursor
to today’s social media shenanigans.
The prescient timing of
“Selma” could not have been planned. Its opening scene is a casual
reminder of what life was like before the Voting Rights Act, with poll
taxes and absurd literacy tests suppressing the Black vote. Miss Sofia
herself, producer
Oprah Winfrey,
shows up in the opening scene as a woman on her fourth journey to the
voting bureau to take the test that will give her a right she already
had. Winfrey disappears into an ordinary person’s countenance, and her
gradual disappointment as she realizes once again she will be denied is
both heartbreaking and a warning.
“Selma” works as both an epic and a small scale drama, and credit must be extended to DuVernay’s longtime cinematographer,
Bradford Young. Young’s camera loves Black skin, and he lights it in beautiful, fearless, shadowy
Gordon Willis
flourishes the likes of which I have not seen in Hollywood cinema. His
stylistic touches during the action scenes are startling and original.
That there hasn’t been more talk about his work (he also shot “Ain’t
Them Bodies Saints”) is something of a travesty that “Selma” should
correct.
This is an emotional movie that aims to anger, sadden and
inspire viewers, sometimes in the same scene. “Selma” takes no
prisoners and, while it welcomes moviegoers of all hues, it has no
intention of sugarcoating its horrors for politically correct
comforting. This film—one of the year’s best—is an announcement of a
major talent in Ms. DuVernay, but its core message will not be lost nor
hidden by the accolades it receives. Through the noise, “Selma” speaks
to us: From the top of the hill of progress, it is just as easy to slide
down backwards as it is to move forward. Attention must be paid.
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