I am not going to spend too much time diving back into the emotions I felt when I first heard about the Oscar Grant story the night it happened. It was, and still is, an insanely tragic story any way you slice it. A young black man is out on BART on New year's Eve, gets into a fight, gets pulled off the train by the cops, is questioned, punched and eventually put face down, cuffed with a knee in his back and a knee on his face. What happened next was unimaginable. A BART cop pulls out his gun and shoots Grant in the back, Grant dies, the cop is convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served 11 months of a two year sentence. The cop claimed he thought he pulled his Tazor gun out. No matter how you slice it, it is tragic. Fruitvale Station is the story of the last day of Oscar Grant's life. It is from first time writer/director Ryan Coogler and stars up and upcoming star Michael B. Jordan as Grant. The minute I heard they were making a movie and that Jordan was attached, I knew this would be something special to watch. I was not disappointed.Oscar Grant (Jordan) has had a rough life and he has made some bad decisions. After a bid in prison he is trying to get on the right path and provide for his girlfriend, Sophina (Melonie Diaz)and his little girl, Tatiana. He just cannot seem to figure it out. We meet him on December 31st 2007. It is his mom's (Octavia Spencer) birthday and of course, New Year's Eve. Sophina wants to go to San Francisco for the night to watch the fireworks and celebrate, but Oscar is not sure. He eventually agrees. While Sophina is at work, Oscar is alone for the day. He calls his mom to wish her happy birthday and he find out what he needs to get at the store for her celebration. When Oscar arrives at the store, we have been led to believe he works there. That is not the case, he used to work there but was fired for being late. he has not told anyone and while picking up some food, he tries to get his former boss to give him a second chance. When his boss says no, Oscar's quick temper flares up. He eventually calms down, but the day does not get easier. His sister calls to borrow money, he watches a dog die and he struggles with this very idea of wanting to better himself. He has a lot of weed he could sell, but that is what got him in trouble in the first place. He cannot find work, presumably because of his past and his conviction. What he is supposed to do. Before he picks up Sophina to head to his mother's house, he decides it is time to be a better man and dumps his weed. His mom convinces him he and his friends should take BART into the city so they do not have to worry about having a designated driver. The night was going so very well until Oscar runs into an old prison rival. Punches are thrown, a fight ensues and when they hear the BART cops coming everyone tries to escape, but the cops snatch up Oscar and most of his friends. With video cameras on them and a tense situation rising, Oscar tries to stay calm, but the cops are egging him on, kicking he and his friends, calling them names and abusing their power as cops. Things start to get out of hand and Oscar is pinned and eventually shot.
Fruitvale Station opens with the real video footage from the moment Oscar Grant was shot. It ends with footage of his now teenage daughter and the vigil held every year on January First for Oscar. The fictionalized film that those real life events bookend is phenomenal. it is hard to believe a first time writer/director managed to tell a story this well known and have it be done so well. The writing feels very real. The dialogue sounds incredibly organic and the screenplay beats are wonderful. The pacing is excellent. Never once are we bored. He lets some scenes linger just long enough (the stunning beach scene) and some he lets linger longer than we are comfortable with, but that need to be shown ( the dog scene). His understanding of how to draw emotion out of characters without making it ever feel manipulative is outstanding. he paints Oscar as flawed young man who was trying. he was dealt a bad hand and did not react well to it. Oscar was a victim of of his own circumstance, but he also created bad situations. he cheated on his girl, so she does not trust him. He clearly has a temper, is immature, and has a tough time taking responsibility for his life, but the system is keeping him down as well. His death shows that. The way Coogler presents Oscar to us makes everything so much more tragic. Oscar is a real person with real flaws. He is not a good guy, not a bad guy, he is simply a guy trying to do what he can to survive and provide.
As Oscar, Michael B. Jordan hits every single note perfectly. He helps Coogler flesh out this complex young man who loves fiercely, but cannot stop making his life harder on himself and his family. The flashback scene with his mother visiting him in prison is one of the most brilliant pieces of acting you are likely to see. Jordan goes through a whole scale of emotions and so much of it is shown in his face. I have been waiting for Jordan to find a break out role for a few years now and am so happy he is getting a chance to shine. He should be an Academy Award nominated actor this year. He gives so much incredible depth to Grant and his portrayal makes the filmed events even more tragic. He is in every scene in the movie. It breathes through him and he lifts it up and carries it. His moments with the young actress playing the daughter are warm and fuzzy, and heart wrenching. Knowing exactly what is going to happen in this film made it impossible for me to view with a dry eye. I was in tears from the moment it began and full on weeping during the stunningly heart breaking final act. The film even gives us the sweetest possible image as the last image, just to break your heart even more.
Is this a relevant movie to our current time? yes, absolutely. It is impossible to watch this movie and not think of Trayvon Martin, another young black man who was murdered. Does it give a clear cut understanding of what was going on with the cops during the melee? Absolutely not. We see one cop who is clearly a jerk, we see a bunch of young black men being harassed as they are held down and kicked by these authority figures and we see a rising situation clearly capable of escalating. Do I believe the cop purposely shot Oscar Grant with all of those people watching, no I do not. Do I think the young cop let the situation get the best of him and do I think he was out of line even pulling out a tazor gun on a guy who was clearly incapacitated, yes I absolutely do. is it a travesty that the man responsible for killing a young man only went to jail for 11 months, yes I do. Does any of that matter to be riveted by this film, I don't think so. I think you can believe whatever it is you want to believe and still find this film to be moving, tragic, and incredible. Coogler does a good enough job presenting a chaotic circumstance in the BART station that night to give many different ideas of what happened, but the result is the same: A young man who was laying face down and unable to move was shot in the back and lost his life. His daughter was left fatherless. Does race play an incredibly important role in that? Yes, it clearly does.
Fruitvale Station is an important young American film. It is the best movie to this point in 2013 and it is a film that will linger with me for years. It left me emotionally gutted. I was exhausted when it was over because of all of the emotions felt throughout. A movie like this, when done well, stays with you and just when you think you are done thinking about it and feeling sad, angry and helpless, it comes back and leaves you feeling sad angry and helpless all over again. I expect great things from Ryan Coogler in the future.
Final Grade: A+
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