Fruitvale Station (2013)

Film: Fruitvale Station (2013)
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Ahna O'Reilly,
Director: Ryan Coogler
Oscar History: It seems so odd, but it didn't score any nominations.
Snap Judgment Ranking: 4/5 stars

I recently saw three films in theaters in rapid succession: The Butler, The Spectacular Now, and Fruitvale Station.  Of the three, I can definitely tell you off-the-bat that I saved the best of the three films for last, though I've wanted some time in my head to comprehend how I felt about the film, for which I was a puddle throughout, though not necessarily just because of what was going on on screen.

(Real life doesn't need spoiler alerts) The film is the story of Oscar Grant, a man who was brutally beaten and shot in Los Angeles' Fruitvale Station on New Year's Day, 2009.  The film takes us through the last day of Grant's (Jordan) life.  We see a man who has had to deal with his recent firing, and is exploring whether it would be appropriate to propose to his girlfriend Sophina (Diaz), and wondering whether he will return to a life of petty drug dealing to support his young family due to his unemployment.

With the exceptions of the opening of the film, which contains haunting footage of the real life Mr. Grant being shot, and one flashback, the film takes place almost entirely within a 24-hour window, and that gives us a claustrophobic sense of Grant's short life.  We get to know a good man, though one with a number of flaws.  I enjoyed the way that Jordan's character seemed to be on a sort of cathartic journey before the evening's events.  Normally this bothers me in a film-most people's last day on earth will likely be fairly uneventful except for the fact that they have passed away, but this is a man who had such a short life, and to see the promises of what could come, what might come-it makes the final scene, which we all know is coming, all the more damaging.

Unlike a number of similarly-themed films, where a recent event is so ingrained in the public's mind that we look more for the comparisons to news stories and forget we're watching a film, Coogler's Fruitvale Station is a cinematic work first and foremost.  The pacing of the movie seems quite right, and you really buy the character work being done by the actors.  Everyone involved is good, though in particular Spencer and Jordan.  Jordan, a movie star handsome actor on the verge of a giant career, has charisma and gravitas to add to his character.  Despite Grant becoming something of a martyr in the years that followed, he never plays the man as a saint-he's someone with deep flaws, who makes mistakes, but is also charming, sexy, and has love in his heart.  He's a human person, someone who, and this is part of what Coogler is trying to get across, didn't deserve the fate that was forced upon him.

Spencer is the most recognizable of the cast members, and it's kind of interesting to see her, after the massive crowd-pleasing in The Help, suddenly headlining a film, even though she's very much a supporting role (there's no category fraud here in regard to her inevitable year-end honors).  She doesn't go for the easy moments, though she could-the scene in the prison, where she won't turn for her son; she doesn't turn around for another bit of postulating, but stays firm.  Her character arch is really superb-a woman who is desperate to try to fix her son's life, trying to protect him until he finds his feet-she manages to find that devoutness in the character without ever overpowering her audience.  Spencer, whom we all know has a knack for comedy, shows that she can handle drama just as well, and it's time to say it: she's a damn fine actress.

The comparisons that critics have made to the Trayvon Martin case are sad for a couple of reasons, not least of which is that this isn't an art imitating life situation.  Oscar Grant was a real person too.  So was Amadou Diallo.  And Sean Bell.  And Ousmane Zongo.  The fact that all of these crimes, each extremely similar and happening over a relatively short period of time, could so easily be confused with the others shows that we have a long way to go when it comes to dealing with race and the legal system in this country.  That's a topic we've broached before on this blog, and I'll probably discuss in a future "rant," but films like Fruitvale Station keep that conversation alive, and if there was nothing else to recommend the film, that alone would be worth the price of the ticket.

But with strong performances from Jordan and Spencer, and with a well-cut, fascinating narrative, the film itself is also good enough to recommend regardless of its societal impact.  It's that truly rare combo of both socially relevant and artistically-crafted.  I know that for most of you, you've either seen it or it's left your local theater, but make sure to hit the Netflix save button if you've yet to experience the movie: it's worth your time.