Half way through the year and Fruitvale Station is looking to be the indie favourite of the Oscar season and its first hour quite deserves the hype. It begins with the shocking and raw real footage of the event the film documents and leaves the rest of the film on the strong dramatic irony that after these 24 hours all these characters lives will change and none of their plans will come to fruition. With this irony it makes the excellent character study all the more fascinating. Michael B. Jordan is terrific as Oscar Grant, giving a subtle convention-defying performance and he's well supported by Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz. I came to feel truly involved with Oscar, especially due to the intimate photography and detailed writing. It's very impressive work from such a young filmmaker who's the same age as the real Oscar Grant.
However, as the film appears to set up a lot of meaningful things in the first hour, in hindsight, they feel aimless. I thought the setups were great. The way Oscar lies but has strong paternal instincts. He's been to prison but he's kind at heart. He's cheated and flirts but he's close to all generations of his family. It's touching and each scene gives him more depth. This is why it's such a painful shame that by the time the film reaches the Fruitvale station scene that all of the potential setups are thrown away in favor of chaotic sentimentality. I'm not sure if Coogler is trying to say that it's because of the content of Oscar's character is why he was put in that situation with both his good sides and bad sides. But the ruckus that puts him in the spotlight is instigated by something that's set up earlier in the film in a blink-and-miss-it scene and renders the whole sequence very confusing.
Sure, what happened to the real Oscar was very sad and I'm certain that it felt chaotic to everyone who witnessed it but I can't help but feel that Coogler ended up not knowing what he wanted to say with the film. It can't possibly be about racial issues because there's not enough development on that. It can't be about injustice regarding police because it's only present for about 5 minutes. Maybe the film could've been saved if it showed the remaining characters trying to cope but it leaves on a hopeless note. It's unfortunate that Coogler turns an intelligent fascinating character study into a flat unpleasant sadfest and it renders the power of the emotions unsatisfying. Maybe this is what he wants us to feel, but I believe the film could've been way better than that. Oh well, at least we have the first hour with the brilliant Michael B. Jordan.
7/10
However, as the film appears to set up a lot of meaningful things in the first hour, in hindsight, they feel aimless. I thought the setups were great. The way Oscar lies but has strong paternal instincts. He's been to prison but he's kind at heart. He's cheated and flirts but he's close to all generations of his family. It's touching and each scene gives him more depth. This is why it's such a painful shame that by the time the film reaches the Fruitvale station scene that all of the potential setups are thrown away in favor of chaotic sentimentality. I'm not sure if Coogler is trying to say that it's because of the content of Oscar's character is why he was put in that situation with both his good sides and bad sides. But the ruckus that puts him in the spotlight is instigated by something that's set up earlier in the film in a blink-and-miss-it scene and renders the whole sequence very confusing.
Sure, what happened to the real Oscar was very sad and I'm certain that it felt chaotic to everyone who witnessed it but I can't help but feel that Coogler ended up not knowing what he wanted to say with the film. It can't possibly be about racial issues because there's not enough development on that. It can't be about injustice regarding police because it's only present for about 5 minutes. Maybe the film could've been saved if it showed the remaining characters trying to cope but it leaves on a hopeless note. It's unfortunate that Coogler turns an intelligent fascinating character study into a flat unpleasant sadfest and it renders the power of the emotions unsatisfying. Maybe this is what he wants us to feel, but I believe the film could've been way better than that. Oh well, at least we have the first hour with the brilliant Michael B. Jordan.
7/10