Without seeming forced or false, writer/director Ryan
Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station” about a young man’s final hours is an
extraordinary film with a strong emotional impact. It’s clear from the start what’s
going to happen. Real-life cell phone footage from a Bay Area Rapid Transit
station in the early hours of New Year’s Day 2009 shows a tense confrontation
between police and a group of men handcuffed on the ground. There’s a scuffle,
a gun goes off and one of the young men falls forward. Then the footage goes
dark. Then it’s 12 hours earlier, and 22-year-old Oscar Grant (Michael B.
Jordan) is reassuring his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) that he’s there for
her and their 4-year-old daughter, Tatiana (Ariana Neal). Oscar runs errands
around his hometown of Hayward, Calif., gets food for the birthday celebration
for his mother Wanda (Octavia Spencer) and texts the pals he and Sophina are
planning to see New Year’s fireworks with in San Francisco. Oscar has lost his
job at a local market because of his tardiness. Pressed for money, he’s tempted
to sell drugs, but that’s what sent him to San Quentin. Wanting to keep his
mother and girlfriend’s respect, he dumps the drugs, but life is hard for Oscar
and he rarely gets a break. On the way back from San Francisco, a prison rival
spots Oscar and starts a fight. It ends fast, but the police arrive and detain
Oscar and three others.
As intense as the story is, we wouldn’t be as invested if
Oscar wasn’t as complex and likeable as he is and Jordan is responsible for
this. There are split-second transitions as the charismatic, low-key Oscar
reveals different sides of himself. As his mom, Spenser makes Wanda tough but
loving. If there’s a complaint, it’s Coogler, in his debut feature, is a little
heavy-handed with his foreshadowing. Rattling subway cars are too ominous and
Oscar’s comforting of a dog hit by a car too obviously suggests later action.
Nonetheless, “Fruitvale Station” is a powerful movie. 7/30/13
No comments:
Post a Comment