MOVIE REVIEW - Selma

The critically acclaimed, Selma is out in wide release this week, and it does not disappoint.

Selma is a historical look at a segment of Dr. Martin Luther King's legacy in 1965 three years before his death.  It focuses on his crusade at that moment in getting Black Americans the right to vote. Even though the law was passed, millions of African Americans still were being denied the right to vote, primarily in the deep south.  This is the story of King lobbying, and fighting for change from the White House to ensure the law would be enforced.

It all culminated in in early 1965 with the 50 mile walk from Selma Alabama, to Montgomery, Alabama in the face of tremendous prejudice.  That feeling was expressed without mercy from the local law enforcement, and even the Alabama Governors office to prevent the historic walk from happening by any means necessary. Mostly the means were extremely violent against unarmed and peaceful marchers and protesters.

This is a real grown up movie that takes a tough stomach to watch much of it.  It is hard to believe of course in the grand scheme of things this was not all that long ago, and what was happening in some parts of this country were pretty tough to watch.  This movie does a very nice job though of showing the worst of America at the time, and the best.  This movie does rely on you to have some historical knowledge of the times as it does not spell it all out for you directly.  This movie certainly will get people interested in the times and the subject.

Yes, there are horrible scenes of extreme police brutality and long moments of tough to take prejudice.  But without question the movies best and most powerful moments are the ones where King  (David Oyelowo) is giving immensely moving speeches as we really get to know King other than just clips on the History Channel.  Oyelowo is simply terrific as King.  Plus, they show King for who he really was as a man outside the Civil Rights movement, and inside the walls of his own home.

They also show is relationship with President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), and that makes for great theater too.  They do a great job in showing the various perspectives both men were coming from during a very turbulent time in our nations recent history. Wilkinson is great as LBJ, and you can feel the respect, and the tension between the two men.

Selma.  Command performances, a very solid and moving movie.