However, the way in which it fleshes out Oscar’s character makes it an acutely political work. It focuses on its subject’s humanity and assesses the tragedy on a personal rather than explicitly sociopolitical level.

Zimmerman too escaped punishment.įruitvale Station accordingly assumed the status of a hot-topic movie, but it’s not in essence an incendiary work. With uncanny, depressing timing, the film’s US release in July 2013 coincided with the verdict in a similar, later case: that of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was gunned down by neighbourhood-watch vigilante George Zimmerman in Florida. But he’s also capable of compassion: witness his tenderness with his daughter, his easy camaraderie with friends and family, and the way he looks after a pit bull that’s been flattened by a speeding car – a blunt but effective use of dramatic licence. There have been curious charges from some critics that he has sanctified his subject, but the evidence doesn’t support this claim: Oscar is shown to have served time in jail neglects to admit to his family that he’s lost his job is quick to bristle (as evidenced by the scene in which he fails to get his job back) and no secret is made of the fact that he hasn’t always been faithful to Sophina. From there, he heads out to party, the train rolls into Fruitvale, and the rest is history.Ĭoogler deliberately sets about creating, in Oscar, a relatable, likeable and flawed protagonist. Strapped for cash, Oscar considers selling weed to a friend but thinks better of it, before heading to his mother’s house. While there, he also attempts to regain his job – he’s been fired for persistent lateness – but his ex-boss is having none of it. Oscar heads to the supermarket to pick up some crabs for a birthday party for his mother ( Octavia Spencer). The rest of the day proceeds in an unremarkable but episodic and elegantly paced manner: a catalogue of minor everyday struggles for a man aiming to get his life on track. They soon make up, so Oscar drives her to work, and their four-year-old daughter Tatiana ( Ariana Neal, adorable) to preschool. We first encounter him having a heated discussion with his girlfriend Sophina ( Melonie Diaz), who suspects him of infidelity. Jordan, whose multilayered performance oozes everyman charisma the actor’s twitchy yet robust physicality and earnest, deep-pool eyes make for a consistently arresting point of contrast in the character. The use of such media in both films immediately establishes the spectre of profound institutional malaise that will haunt the forthcoming narrative.Īfter its shocking opening, Fruitvale Station assumes the form of a fictionalised portrayal of Oscar, beginning the previous morning. The use of this disturbing footage recalls Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992), which opened with amateur video of the savage beating of unarmed black motorist Rodney King – also in California – by a group of LAPD officers. By kicking off the film in this manner, the director acknowledges the primacy of authenticity and casts a dark, foreboding shadow over everything that follows. The shooting was captured on countless camera phones and subsequently went viral – Coogler’s film opens with footage taken by one of these bystanders.

Fruitvale station full movie youtube