Movie Review: Selma (2015) - I have a dream, a dream of getting good movies in January

Forgive the delay of this review, like I said in my previous post I’m in the middle of switching thing over to a new computer, but at long last, I have a review of a 2015 film. Yes, I’m aware Selma came out in 2014, but that was for a limited release only, and my rule is that the year of wide release is the year I tag it as, so for early January that includes anything shown last year. Why? My blog, my rules, and also I really just don’t want to deal with the semantics in regards to what year counts for what.

Now that that is all cleared up, let’s get to the Selma review.

Plot Summary – The film is based on the Selma to Montgomery marches that took place in 1965 and were led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and company, as they tried to get new laws enacted that would allow blacks in the state of Alabama the ability to vote without hindrance. The film follows from the beginning of the planning phase of the end of the march and all the ttrouble and hardships in between.

Pros – David Oyelowo as King is amazing in the role, as quite honestly I think it might be one of the best I’ve ever seen. The supporting cast is great as well (it’s always nice to see Tim Roth in a film, that man needs more work) and the whole film just looks great as well, both in the sense of historical accuracy as well as cinematography wise. The main thing though I like about this film though is how it doesn’t try and preach at you, it just simply tells the story and lets you feel everything they felt going through it all. Now some might argue that there’s nothing wrong with a film being preachy, I can agree on an idealistic level, but I’m simply not the type of guy who enjoys being preached at. The film also takes a moment to showcase the two white people who were killed during the marches as well to give you a fair look at all the suffering involved in the marches.

Cons – Normally I try to stay away from film controversies, but there has been some claims that the historical accuracy of President Johnson’s involvement is incorrect. Now, normally I’d write it off as dramatic tension for the sake of the story, but in a film that does try it’s best to stay historically accurate for the most part it does feel like a bit of a disrespect to a man who, despite a few missteps here and there, was for the most part very involved in the civil rights movement at the time, especially when the film makes a point to showcase other white people who were involved in their proper context. Unfortunately this does knock off a point on its final score. Also for the first half of the film, they do this awesome thing were they showcase Dr. King’s movements in the form of the FBI files that they were keeping on him, but I guess they stop doing that in the film because, although they don’t say it specifically, the FBI probably stopped following him during that time.

Final Score – 9/10

The slight bump in historical accuracy keeps it from being a 10, but it’s nice to know we can still get great films in January.

Now, I actually have four films coming up for review, I just don’t know when they’ll be posted, but until then, I’ll see you guys at the movies.