THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
I used to think that New Year’s Day is the only time where things would go smooth for everyone aside from Christmas, but boy was I wrong.
PLOT
Fruitvale Station follows the story of Oscar Grant who was shot by an officer at the Fruitvale BART station in January 1, 2009. The movie shows his whole day before his fate is set. We see him refusing to sell drugs again, which is what he once went to prison for. We also see him do good by others and celebrating the birthday of his mother Wanda. As he tells her that he and his girlfriend Sophia are going out of town to San Francisco with friends, to celebrate New Year festivities, his mother Wanda suggests him to take the train, rather than driving. Fast forward the trip there and the fun they had, it is the trip home where everything falls apart. When recognized by Katie (Ahna O’Reilly), who he met at the grocery store, he is also recognized by another inmate he knew in prison. He starts a fight with Oscar, which led to the train stopping and Oscar getting detained by officers along with his friends; All of this leads to his demise. When he is taken to the hospital, Sophina, Wendy and everyone else close to him, wait all night for him to recover only to be told by doctors that he didn't make it. As Wendy is unable to cope with losing her only son, the film ends with Sophina becoming frozen, unable to figure out how to tell her daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal) that her father is gone.
THOUGHTS
Every time I watch this film, I can't help but root for Oscar as he is someone wanting to be better, but every time the film opens up with the actual footage of his demise, I always have to accept that he isn't gonna make it. In his directorial debut, Ryan Coogler shares the story that had to be told and with the said opening, he wants the audience to accept that not only is this film based on a true story, but that there won't be a happy ending. I am impressed that Forest Whitaker joined Coogler as a producer to ensure that this story would be seen. This movie earns that success because of how it illustrates the humanity of a man who was more innocent than people expect. Michael B. Jordan is downright phenomenal playing Oscar, being able to embody every emotion that Grant went through that day. Aside from the roles he would do after this, Oscar is his crowning achievement as an actor because he would’ve not gone so far without it. He makes it the most grounded by reminding us how human this man was before his unexpected end. Seeing how he held all the wrapped attention in this performance as a leading man just proves that Jordan was meant for this role. Melonie Diaz's Sophina and Octavia Spencer's Wendy are also respectively great as the only ones that push him to get better. No one should ever grow up without a parent. So when we see his daughter ask for him, it is just as gut wrenching as the entire train sequence. Every time we get to the said scene, it is always difficult to get through, not just because it really happened, but because there are still actual African American victims that have gone through a similar fate. Meaning every time I see the cop put his knee on Oscar, I can't stop thinking about victims such as George Floyd and Eric Garner. It is a scene that will break me to tears no matter what because it pains me to see that this world doesn’t adapt as we like to think it does. The fact that the cop that shot Oscar served only eleven months is so upsetting because personally, I know that that man deserves a longer sentence for shooting someone who was innocent. It also doesn't surprise me because it reminds me that 'the system' doesn't work the way we want it to. I also personally think it is BULLSHIT that he mistook between his gun and taser. Seeing Katie's reaction to Oscar getting shot felt just as realistic as the reaction of Oscar's family that he didn't make it. It feels this way because she is heartbroken that the nicest man she ever met is shot for no reason. I also find it uncomfortable that David Horowitch, the man who started the fight, has not spoken about the incident. Because of how he's depicted in the movie, you'll start feeling as if he didn't regret his actions. Putting personal feelings aside, Fruitvale Station is a great movie for its most effective sublime nature and must be seen no matter what genre you're into.
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