Directed by Ava DuVernay, Selma is "a chronicle of Martin Luther King's campaign to secure equal voting rights via an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965." And yet it is far more than that. It's a reflection of America today. It's a painfully sharp reminder of the 2014 Ferguson unrest and a country still grappling with discrimination and racial issues.
Nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Song (Glory by John Legend & Common) at the Academy Awards, Selma deserves even more attention than it's getting. Brutal, unforgiving and in your face, it is a harrowing account of the 1965 march with a message that still rings true today. It's emotionally chilling without being incredibly melodramatic.
After starring together in The Butler, David Oyelowo (as King), Oprah Winfrey and Cuba Gooding Junior hit the big screen together again in this film. They, and the rest of the cast, do a great job in bringing key historical figures and the civil rights movement to life. Despite King's speeches having been rewritten since another studio purchased the rights of the real speeches, the speeches in Selma still have the power to move. All in all, this film does not disappoint.
Our rating: 8 Steps out of 10.
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