The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. finally gets a feature film dedicated to him in “Selma.” The film tells of King’s famous civil rights march from Selma, Alabama to the state’s capital, Montgomery. But it also tells of all the politics and drama surrounding the event and the lead up.
Almost out of the gate this film was getting universal praise from critics, and even now it stands at a 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
I won’t lie: there was a part of me that thought the film was mainly getting praise due to the subject matter and how one or two elements have parallels to recent events. Also it could have easily fallen into what I call, “m’kay” movies—you know, films like, “Racism is bad, m’kay?” or “Addiction is bad, m’kay?” They’re films that deal with big issues but don’t do much outside of just saying they’re important issues without going any deeper.
Thankfully, this film does not fall into that category. While, yes, this film does deal with issues that are sadly topical, it is a film that shows what happened outside of the more infamous moments. It also shows the lead up to it, and it provides a wonderful and complex portrayal of one of the most important men of the last century.
A film I kept thinking of is Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln”—mainly because both films are biopics of notable men and deal with a very important, if not defining, moment in their lives. Both films also play it smart and portray the leading men as real human beings.
Many biopics portray their subject as a saint among men, who is flawless. But with this film, Ava DuVernay, the director, wisely shows that Dr. King was a man who had moments when he doubted himself. He was also a man who had his own troubles outside of events related to the movements.
Speaking of the portrayal itself, David Oyelowo is absolutely flawless in his portrayal as King. And, yes, I do feel he was robbed of an Oscar nomination.
Now like a lot of biopics, it has been the subject of controversy, mainly in the portrayal of then-President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson). The movie portrays him as somewhat reluctant to take immediate action on the civil rights issues in the South when many actually say he was very involved and worked a lot with Dr. King.
As for me, I thought it was a fair portrayal. The movie doesn’t ask us to hate him or view him as the bad guy. You get an understanding that he isn’t ignoring the issue; it’s just that he’s the man who is currently in charge of a nation with a lot of issues going on.
The only people who are vilified are the ones who should be, and by that I mean the people who were rather racist, such as then-Alabama Governor George Wallace (Tim Roth).
It’s a wonderful film that handles its subject matter well and has a group of actors giving spectacular performances. Give it a watch.