![]() But this is not a phenomenon unique to Fruitvale Station. If they did, they perhaps couldn't abide the film's portrayal of a young black man as a complex human being-you're either a thug or a saint, good or bad, black or white (sometimes literally), with no shades of grey between. Did these people see the same film? Coogler's unwillingness to cast Grant as a martyr and instead paint the portrait of a troubled, sometimes "bad" guy, makes 'Fruitvale Station' special-and challenging as drama and as commentary. I'm not usually one to read or put much stock in IMDb reviews, particularly in advance of a film's release, but it's worth noting that as of this writing, nearly half of the user blurbs are not only negative, but grossly inaccurate, bafflingly charging the film with "whitewashing" the story of "Saint Oscar." "We elevate another hoodlum to the status of martyr," goes one typical review. That's why some early responses to the film are so puzzling. He's capable of being both kind and brutal, both honorable and troubling, both guilty and innocent.Ĭoogler's willingness to acknowledge Grant's flaws, to resist the urge to cast him as a martyr and instead paint the portrait of a troubled, sometimes "bad" guy, is what makes Fruitvale Station special-and challenging as drama and as commentary. Mere moments earlier, while visiting a friend at the butcher's counter, he helps a customer looking for help buying supplies for a fish fry by putting her on the phone with his grandma for tips-and he doesn't even work there anymore. But the entire sequence around that blow-up showcases the duality of his person. It's a foreboding turn of events, since we already know about his death-have already seen it, even-and thus presume that that anger will return to haunt him. In that one scene, Coogler (and the excellent Jordan) tactfully conveys how Oscar's rage switches on and how quickly it gets out of his control. When his request is refused, he loses his cool: He yells at, and even threatens, the man who could help him. Instead, he goes back to the store and begs his old boss for his job back. He lost his job at a grocery store weeks earlier (due to chronic lateness) and hasn't worked up the nerve yet to tell Sophina. He's hot tempered, has trouble with fidelity, and deals marijuana-though his New Year's resolution is to quit slinging and go straight. Jordan) is 22, living with his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) and their daughter. Yet this is not merely a mournful docudrama it's a film of keenly observed behavior and subtle domestic details, one that offers a bravely complex portrait of a man unjustly killed. ![]() Over the 90 minutes that follow the iPhone clip that opens the film, writer/director Ryan Coogler dramatizes the day that turned out to be Grant's last. And in theaters across the country, Fruitvale Station considers those some questions about Oscar Grant. In that courtroom, and in the coverage of the events within it, a young black man's death has prompted speculation, assumptions, and judgment about his life. ![]() But upon seeing it in Fruitvale Station, my mind nevertheless leapt to Sanford, Florida, where the aural counterpart, tapes of 911 calls capturing the final moments of Trayvon Martin's life, have been unspooling for the past three weeks. Following that performance he started receiving acclaim for a number of roles and of course became Morpheus in The Matrix.In that moment, it seems wrong to think of anything but Oscar Julius Grant III, the man whose life was so brutally taken. At the time Fishburne was recognizable for his nearly 20 year career, but Boyz n the Hood was the first mainstream successful movie that showcased Fishburne’s talent when he played the father figure, Furious Styles (one of many performances he should have received an Oscar for). John Singleton’s now modern classic Boyz n the Hood starred Cuba Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, Nia Long, Regina King and Angela Bassett in a crime drama that kickstarted all their careers. He starred in Spike Lee’s second film, the under-the-radar School Daze, but 1991’s Boyz n the Hood really brought the actor to the forefront. ![]() Throughout the ‘80s he found roles here and there, including a minor role in The Color Purple with Whoopi Goldberg. Fishburne got started in Hollywood at the age of 11, finding roles in ABC soaps before being part of Apocalypse Now as a teen. Laurence Fishburne is another all-time great Black actor who continues to star in incredible movies and TV shows today including his role in the forthcoming John Wick movie. (Image credit: Columbia Pictures) Laurence Fishburne In Boyz n the Hood (1991)
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