As an almost perfectly true story of Oscar Grant III (Michael B. Jordan), Fruitvale Station follows him in a short review of his recent past with the law, his future goals as a new family man, and the devastating tragedy of the last day of his life. Surrounding the celebration of New Year’s Eve of 2008, this gritty 2013 Sundance Film Festival winner of the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film, explicitly opens the wound of injustice that occurs between Oscar’s death and the BART (Fruitvale Bay Area Rapid Transit Station in Oakland, California) police officer who shot him. To say that it exposes lines of racial incongruity would be an understatement. It is nothing short of a breathtaking reminder that life is short and inharmonious.
Defined by an all-star cast including Octavia Spencer, Michael B. Jordan has once again proven himself to be a powerful force on the screen and an equally inspiring voice of his generation. Sadly, the only relationship I was able to truly buy into was between Oscar and his daughter, played by the charming Ariana Neal. I desperately yearned for a genuineness that never came between Spencer and her on-screen son. Rather I felt a forced-smile disconnect between the two that so often is the result of these pithy independent films.
Nevertheless, as a first time feature film director, Ryan Coogler masters a fresh ingenuity that mimics the current generation and culture that surrounds us. By using extra digital effects, the audience is able to see Oscar’s phone screen as he dials numbers and sends text messages, allowing an inside look on his thoughts and actions before they are portrayed on the screen. A movie of pure cause and effect, I give it three out of five stars. It was a well-done homage to a beautiful soul and a distressingly brilliant reminder of current social standings.
