Friday, November 1, 2019

Fruitvale Station (2013, R)


This is a movie I’ve had my eye on for a while, and I finally made the time to watch it. I’ve really loved both of Ryan Coogler’s more commercial movies, so I wanted to go back and see his debut feature film, which also doubles as the beginning of his beautiful friendship with Michael B. Jordan (premise spoilers, but it’s based on a true story, so that’s also just recent history.)

Fruitvale Station follows Oscar Grant through his final day, December 31st, 2008, before being killed by a police officer in a subway station. Of course, Oscar doesn’t realize it’s the last day of his life, and he spends it preparing for his mother’s birthday get-together, dealing with employment woes, and making New Year’s Eve plans with his girlfriend and friends.

I really like the low-key flow of the narrative here. Following a protagonist through the course of their day, which meanders but becomes fateful in the end, is a classic indie-film move, and the film carries it off well. We’re already primed for the ending, so we know where we’re heading and catch the muted references of dramatic irony as Oscar plans for a future he won’t have.

I also love the portrait the film paints of Oscar. The movie offers up his admirable qualities (his easy people skills and natural inclination to help people, how beautifully he plays with his daughter) as well as his flaws (he can be hotheaded and impulsive, and despite a determination to turn things around after serving time, desperation can lead him to bad decisions.) When someone is the victim of a police shooting, one side is always quick to depict the person as a lowlife criminal, the other side as a sainted innocent. But the tack Coogler and co. takes here is more along the lines of how Trevor Noah talks about police shootings: someone can be a good, worthwhile human being without having been perfect, and having a criminal record doesn’t mean someone deserves to be killed by an officer of the law. It’s a more complex picture, and while I’m aware that some people might see Oscar’s past or the way he argues with the cops and take that as “proof,” I find it to be a respectful portrayal of a man who was more than the broad stokes people paint him with.

Michael B. Jordan anchors the film as Oscar. He plays Oscar’s many different sides with nuance, giving a subtle but compelling performance that holds your attention whether he’s driving, charming a customer at the butcher counter, or making the most of a subway ride. The film also features Octavia Spencer as Oscar’s mom and Melonie Diaz as Oscar’s girlfriend Sophina, plus Kevin Durand (who I always remember as Keamy from Lost) and Chad Michael Murray in small but pivotal roles as the officers in Fruitvale Station.

Warnings

Disturbing violence, language, drinking/smoking/drug references, sexual references, and strong thematic elements.

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