Movie review: Selma

David Oyelowo portrays Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a scene from Selma.

Given the civil rights subject matter, the greatness of Martin Luther King as the man at the centre of the story, and relevance today it's surprising Selma isn't a bigger, flashier film. It's to director Ava DuVernay's credit that she recognised this story didn't need further embellishment, grandiose shots or an overwhelming score.

Better still, she doesn't try to tell Martin Luther King's whole life story. DuVernay focuses on one historic event to represent King's work: the 1965 voting-rights marches from Selma, Alabama to the state capital Montgomery. As far as historical dramas go, this one follows a formula more similar to Lincoln than The Butler as King uses protest and demonstration, the media and his political connections to convince President Lyndon Johnson to sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Screenwriter Paul Webb cleverly captures the political machinations of King's movement, led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, over three months. The landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act had already desegregated the South but, under the leadership of racist governors such as Alabama's George Wallace (Roth), African Americans were threatened and intimidated if they attempted to register to vote.

We see King and the SCLC at work on the ground, choosing the racist town of Selma to demonstrate because there's a good chance law enforcement will react violently to their protest, and give the movement much-needed media attention. Selma also shows King working at the higher levels of politics, refusing to compromise with a supportive but rattled President Johnson, played by Tom Wilkinson.

All this leads to the confrontation on a bridge at Selma as the SCLC's peaceful protest march meets local police and state troopers. The scene is handsomely shot, to match archive footage that screens at the end of the film, and loaded with tension and then horror as the batons rain down on protesters.

Actor David Oyelowo is exceptional as King, so though Selma has received Oscar nominations for best picture and best original song, it's surprising there hasn't been one for him. His speeches are rousing, his leadership and intelligence unquestionable; but where he really shines is in the quieter, intimate moments when King contemplates his faith, family and cause.

Oyelowo presents us with a man worn down by the fight, constantly in fear of losing his life and plagued by his flaws. A conversation between King and wife Coretta Scott King (played by British actress Carmen Ejogo), where King's adultery is addressed, reminds us of the real man behind the legend.

As well as Scott King we meet many other characters whose faces are filled with backstories there's no time to divulge. Occasionally they flit through so quickly it's hard to keep track of who's who, but Selma needn't be longer, especially as the focus here is firmly on voting rights and Martin Luther King.

By avoiding this film being a straight bio-pic or relationship drama, DuVernay has created a historical and political drama that resonates today. This isn't just a look at the past, but an opportunity to consider how far civil rights have come and how much further they have to go.

Cast: David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth
Director: Ava DuVernay
Running Time: 128 mins
Rating: M (Violence, offensive language)

Verdict: A handsome, restrained biography

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