Review of Fruitvale Station (2013) by Cameron J — 05 Feb 2014

Oh hey, Michael Jordan is back, and that moustache really does make him look younger, by, like, almost 25 years or something. Oh no, wait, this lead is named Michael [u]B.[/u] Jordan, because black people aren't particularly creative with naming their kids when they can't make up some weird word like, I don't know, Bakari... which is what the B. in this new Michael Jordan's name stands for. Shoot, as a white guy discussing a film like this, I probably shouldn't be cracking jokes about black people... or opening my sentences with "shoot"... or saying "[u]cracking[/u] jokes". Man, I am a gutsy cracker, but, make no mistake, people, this is a tragic story, and, speaking of prejudice, it seems to be a pretty common one in California. I don't know, I feel like if they wanted a really unique interpretation of this subject matter, they would have taken a story set outside of California, like in, oh, I don't know, Sanford, Florida, or something. Well, they probably can't adapt that story yet, not necessarily because it's still too relevant, but because, regardless of what the liberals say, the background is still too inconsistent for them to easily turn it into yet another (*cough*da*cough*ted*cough*) civil rights message. Man, I'm getting in all kinds of trouble, so allow me to calm people down by saying that this film is indeed a good take on a worthy story, in spite of some issues.

This subject matter dealing with a black man's being in the wrong place, until put down in the wrong time by the wrong type of people, is certainly familiar, and the very indie drama interpretation does little to freshening things up, blanding storytelling up enough with familiarity, with directorial dry spells being taken out of account. Ryan Coogler's directorial thoughtfulness is very effective, but somewhat quiet and dulling when material dies out, as it often does in a film that Cooler, as writer, bloats so much with aimless plotting spells in material. Running 85 minutes, this film is very short, but it's primarily merely the final chapter, or rather, day in the life of a man, so dynamicity to material is limited, and Coogler struggles to keep up material, as surely as he sometimes struggles to keep up resonance. The film is not simply not all that unsubtle, but with a delicacy that is resonant enough to engage with heart, if not power, through the dragging and familiarity of storytelling, and yet, all of the meditativeness occasionally gets to be overblown, thrusting certain dramatic elements upon the viewers with only so much depth in a reflection on ambition. The final product is not nearly as overblown as I feared it would be as yet another dramatic meditation upon black people problems, but the sense of passion to flesh this narrative out stresses the shortcomings, particularly the natural ones. There aren't a whole lot of mistakes made in this still fairly formulaic and draggy drama, yet its reward value is near-remarkable, as this subject matter is just so minimalist in scale, being worthy, sure, but with only so much momentum to draw into a particularly compelling effort, especially when such natural shortcomings go emphasized by the aforementioned consequential shortcomings that plague this particular product. There is only so much to talk about this film, but what can be said about this film is, by a long shot, predominantly positive, because in spite of the problems, this effort has enough inspiration to draw reward value from a worthy story.

This story is minimalist and traditional as a contemporary look at the common issues faced within the black community, but it sure is worthy, thematically and as a character study which is sold in part by worthy character portrayals. Just about everyone conveys the layers of decent people living under problematic circumstances, in spite of acting material limitations, and that particularly goes for lead Michael B. Jordan, who is effectively naturalist in his projection of humanity and subtle intensity in order to capture the depths of Oscar Grant III, as a person who struggles to overcome, not so much the environment that men of his type have blamed too much, but personal conflicts and demons. While the climax of the film certainly treads controversial ground regarding race relations and whatnot, this could have been a heavy-handed anti-racism message, and in spite of its still being rather heavy-handed in certain places, this is no superficial drama, as reflected in Jordan's particularly realized and convincing performance, and in Ryan Coogler's efforts, even as writer. Coogler's script is bloated, maybe even aimless at times, but it's tight in enough areas to compel, providing, in spite of a story that simply revolves around a single day in someone's life, solid characterization that draws believable and thoughtful elements in order to sell as much range as it can out of minimalist subject matter. If storytelling was a little less inspired, then the lightness of this effort's momentum, coupled with pacing problems, would have driven the film into underwhelmingness, but Coogler's script is ultimately inspired enough to milk human themes for all their worth and reward. Well, Coogler's script might not have been able to craft such reward value if it was not backed by inspired direction, also courtesy of Coogler, whose thoughtfully meditative storytelling is often dulling, yet more often effective in subtly drawing on the depths of this subtly layered drama, and boasting an endearingly charged atmosphere, with moving heights in effectiveness. The film has a fair deal of shortcomings, both natural and consequential, but the inspiration cannot be denied, as it meets ambition most every step of the way, empowering the final product with enough tender heart to compel pretty thoroughly.

When the train has pulled out, somewhat formulaic, draggy and atmospherically dry, when not overblown storytelling behind natural shortcomings all but render the final product underwhelming, but the sheer inspiration behind the convincing acting, well-rounded writing and thoughtful direction proves to be enough to make "Fruitvale Station" a compelling, steady study on a tragic final day in a modern life of a black man.

3/5 - Good.