Review of Fruitvale Station (2013) by Chris S — 24 Nov 2013

Fruitvale Station is a stunning film that introduces us to a very talented Writer/Director named Ryan Coogler. Fruitvale Station shows us the final 24 hours of Oscar Grant's life, a 22 year old man who was shot and murdered at Fruitvale Station on the first of January in 2009.

I was really interested in seeing Fruitvale Station because I heard nothing but great things about it from both critics and audiences. Now that I have seen Fruitvale Station I can say that is deserves all the praise it's getting because it is a phenomenal film that everyone should see.

What truly amazes me about this film is how well written and directed it is because it's by a man who had never done a feature film before this. Coolger's script was just fantastic, he got me invested into the story and invested into the character of Oscar Grant which made me care for him.

Throughout this movie you are hoping that things turn out ok for Oscar but the sad thing is you already know how the film is going to end. Let me say that I found the ending of the film to be extremely hard to watch and so will others, the ending was just so sad and tragic that it brought tears to me eyes.

One thing I loved about Coogler's writing/directing is that he didn't Hollywoodize the story at all, he gave a realistic portrayal of what happened four years ago and I thought that was bold. I also thought he did an incredible job at showing you who Oscar Grant was; he showed his past, he showed us how he's just a guy whose trying to get his life back together, he even showed us how he interacts with people.

Well, that's enough about Coogler for now, let's get into the performances from the cast. Michael B. Jordan's portrayal of Oscar Grant was just spectacular, his performance was just so good because he his part of the reason why you care for his character.

Jordan just becomes Oscar and I found him to be truly incredible, if he does not get an Oscar nod for his performance I will be extremely unhappy because he truly does deserve it. This film also has some great performances from Melonie Diaz and Octavia Spencer, both actresses were just terrific for their parts and I could see Spencer potentially getting an Oscar nod for Best Supporting Actress.

In the end Fruitvale Station is an extremely well-made, hard-hitting drama that is one of the best films of 2013. I highly recommend seeing this film even though it is a hard watch.