Arts & Entertainment

The Heart-Wrenching Film, Fruitvale Station, Now Showing in Atlanta

Director Ryan Coogler's FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident whose day takes a tragic turn, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood.

Fruitvale Station is the true story of the hours leading up to Oscar Grant's death by the hands of a Bay Area public transportation cop's bullet.

Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler's FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident whose day takes a tragic turn, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year's Day in Oakland, CA.

The film is so poignant right now, being that much of the country is still feeling hurt and mystified by the verdict in the George Zimmerman case in which a man was found 'Not Guilty' for shooting an unarmed Black teenager.  Director Ryan Coogler says that the release of the film is purely coincidence, and urges people not to try to connect the 2 incidents.  He says they are totally separate cases and should be treated as two separate tragedies.

Despite the difference in the cases, Atlanta audience members could not help leaving the theatre in tears after a preview screening.  The film is shot so intimately as the audience grows to love and feel apathy for the main character and his young family, who he tragically leaves behind after being shot in the back by the equivalent of a MARTA police officer.

In the film Coogler does not try to portray Oscar as a saint, but rather a real individual with human flaws.  Much of the story was told to the director firsthand by Oscar's girlfriend and mother of his child, Sophina.  The film directly shows he has made his mistakes in life, but he still is dedicated to being a good father and son. As an innocent bystander that day,  he did not deserve to be shot in the back while being handcuffed.

The movie is probably the best depiction, yet, of how it is to be a young, black male in urban America.  It also makes audiences shed a tear for the main character's mother, who does all she can to protect her son but still loses him to police brutality.  She is actually the person who tells her son to leave his car at home and take public transportation, so he won't risk being pulled over and harassed by the police.

The film is no doubt a tragedy.  It is hard to watch and gut-wrenching.  But it can also give audiences a cathartic release.  It gave me a chance to cry it out.  The Zimmerman verdict weighs heavy on my mind, and with this film I was able to sit in the dark and shed a tear for both of these young men.

I can not stress more, my recommendation to see this film.  The lead actor Michael B. Jordan, is stunning and one of the actors of the future to keep an eye on.  The directing and cinematography is incredible and Ryan Coogler undeniably pulls audiences right into the action. 

Be prepared to leave the film stunned.  You will talk for hours about what you saw and about the state of Black America and US Justice system.  

The film currently has a limited release in Atlanta, showing at Midtown Art Cinema and at Atlantic Station.  Check Moviefone for showtimes.


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