Saturday, September 19, 2015

Selma

On Friday night with Sharon and Janie still on their European vacation, I watched Selma. This is the only one of the Oscar nominated films for 2014 that I didn't see earlier in the year..

After reading the DiMaggio biography, I have become much more suspicious of historical films and novels. I keep wondering if this an accurate portrayal of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Andrew Young is included in the film. Young—SCLC activist and official, and later US Congressman, Ambassador to the United Nations, and mayor of Atlanta—told The Washington Post that the depiction of the relationship between Johnson and King" was the only thing he would question in the movie.

In spite of Young's endorsement, I think that there are parts of the film that don't work. Malcom X and J. Edger Hoover's brief appearances as well as the whole story line about Dr. King's martial affairs seemed disjointed.

In spite of the shortcomings, David Oyelowo does a great job as Dr. King. Dr. King was an amazing speaker; you get to hear Ovelowo give several of his speeches. Additionally, at the end of the film, they use several minutes of actual footage from the March in 1964. You can see Sammy Davis Jr. and Henry Bellafonte marching in the crowds. I found this part of the movie very moving.

Overall, I give the film a luke-warm endorsement. While there are parts to the film that seem to drag, I found the last ten minutes of the movie extremely powerful.

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