Member review

Never have I seen a film so very brutal and honest in it's portrayal of a frankly disgusting and horrifying period of recent history. Directed by Ava DuVernay this film moved me to tears within the first few moments and I was left with tears dripping down my cheeks for the next 123 minutes of run time and a good while after. I heard about this film months back and was absolutely horrified to find out that my local cinema wouldn't be screening it and it is only thanks to Film Club that I got the chance to experience this and for that I am truly grateful.

The march from the town of Selma to Montgomery, Alabama in 1965 is something that history should and hopefully never will forget. This film tells the story of the events leading up to it, including the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, the smaller march to the voting Registration Office, and the shooting of Jimmie Lee Jackson. The first march is cut short by state troopers firing tear gas into the crowd of people before running through on horses, beating them all brutally. We see the world's reaction to the disgusting and horrifying footage, pulling up the emotion and reaction everyone was feeling at the time and shoving it into a fresh new light.

David Oyelowo's performance as Dr. Martin Luther King JR was utterly astounding. He played a part that many wouldn't even think about attempting with grace and respect, commanding the crowds as King did and pushing speeches in the same inspiring manner. The compelling manner in which King spoke at the time is carried across beautifully by Oyelowo's performance here. We are given the experience that King and the world went through at the time, not just during the march itself but in King's home life too with his wife Coretta Scott King (Carmen Ejogo). Like I said at the beginning of this review, this film is beautifully and brutally honest, not even masking the fact that the homes of every activist leader was bugged, that the FBI directly tried to sabotage not just their movements but their home lives too, even consulting the President on how they should go about it. Some films recounting this event might have glossed over that fact, focusing more on how King overcame rather than what he had to overcome. The hardest hitting part for me was the end of the film, informing us what happened to the people we had grown to love during this movie after the march and King's speech.

Every moment of this film was a pull on the heartstrings and a kick in the chest. It was an amazing experience. Five out of five stars, if a single theatre near you decides it has the basic decency to show this incredibly important film then go and see it. But bring a large box of tissues.