The remarkable thing about Selma, apart from assured directing, stylistic interludes and captivating dialogue, is that four British actors are pivotal in breathing life into this story.
SELMA
Director: Ava DuVernay
Cast: David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, Tim Roth, Common, Carmen Ejogo, Lorraine Toussaint, Oprah Winfrey, Wendell Pierce, Cuba Gooding jun,Omar Dorsey, Stephen James
Rating: (M)
Four stars (out of five)
None more so than David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King jun. Overlooked for higher honours at award ceremonies, Oyelowo is a revelation as the Baptist minister who peacefully takes the struggles of African-American communities to the heart of the segregated South.
Establishing what is at stake via an opening sequence that chops between Dr Martin Luther King jun accepting the Nobel Peace Prize and an explosion killing four girls in a church, director Ava DuVernay gets inside the historical issues by way of King's struggles at home and in the political arena.
Through the strain on his marriage to Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo) and his futile meetings with President Lyndon B. Johnson (played infuriatingly well by Tom Wilkinson), we get a unique take on King's motivations separated from his famous speeches.
When King realises he can go no further in persuading the president to reel in the staunchly racist officials in Alabama, King decides to take his campaign to the town of Selma.
As a visual document that examines a moment in time while incorporating themes synonymous with contemporary race relations, Selma is profoundly moving.
- Mark Orton
