Review of Selma (2014) by Steve S — 03 Feb 2016

I am a history buff, so I had to see this. Perhaps I set my expectations too high. I found it refreshing for a King movie to focus on one event, one city. I also liked how they gave ample attention to King's associates.

It wasn't just one guy riding into town to save the day. No, Martin had people around him--people that not only organized the rallies, but also to withstand frequent assaults. My issue with the movie is that it felt disjointed.

First, Martin's driving into Selma, then he's in jail, then he's in California for some reason, then he's somewhere else, then he's back in Selma. What the hell is going on? Also, who was making those threatening calls to the King residence? What did LBJ mean when he wanted to create tension with King's family life? The movie did not clearly address these plot points.

The cast, overall, was solid, although ol' Tim Roth (one of my favorite actors of all time) was struggling a bit with the southern accent. I can see this movie as something that will be played in high school and college history courses for years to come.