For a feature film, "Fruitvale Station" is not really long, just an hour and fifteen minutes. However, with the limited story, maybe it would have been more effective as a live-action short film instead.
This film tells us the story of an ex-con Oscar Grant who is trying his best to get back on his feet after his stint in jail. However on one New Year's Eve 2008, he gets involved in an altercation with policemen in a BART train station, which had a bloody and tragic outcome.
While Michael B. Jordan does a good enough job as Oscar Grant, he does not exactly do anything extraordinary which we have not seen before. Octavia Spencer flashes her Oscar-winning acting style in the short moments she is on screen as Oscar's mother.
After we see the last fifteen minutes at the BART station, the first hour or so leading to the fateful day felt rather empty. It is a very sad violent event that never should have happened, yes. But the movie never really lifted off being a simple crime scene reenactment.
This film tells us the story of an ex-con Oscar Grant who is trying his best to get back on his feet after his stint in jail. However on one New Year's Eve 2008, he gets involved in an altercation with policemen in a BART train station, which had a bloody and tragic outcome.
While Michael B. Jordan does a good enough job as Oscar Grant, he does not exactly do anything extraordinary which we have not seen before. Octavia Spencer flashes her Oscar-winning acting style in the short moments she is on screen as Oscar's mother.
After we see the last fifteen minutes at the BART station, the first hour or so leading to the fateful day felt rather empty. It is a very sad violent event that never should have happened, yes. But the movie never really lifted off being a simple crime scene reenactment.