Fruitvale Station
Now playing at Fifth Avenue Cinemas
I started writing my review of Fruitvale Station around the same time that news broke about 18-year-old Sammy Yatim, the sole occupant of a Toronto streetcar, who was tazered then shot nine times by police.If you dont already know the outcome of the events in Ryan Cooglers Fruitvale Station, stop reading now. But San Francisco bay residents certainly havent forgotten how a few hours into 2009, unarmed Oscar Grant III was pulled from a railcar and then gunned down by Bay Area Rapid Transit police as he was handcuffed, facedown, on the station platform.Cellphones captured both of these shootings, bearing witness to excessive force (at the very least). Fruitvale Station won the grand jury prize and the audience award at this years Sundance Film Festival, but the recent verdict in the shooting of Trayvon Martin is sure to generate additional interest. Oscar (Michael B. Jordan) is trying to make things right with his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), and to stay out of trouble for the sake of their daughter (Ariana Neal). Its New Years Eve, rent is due, and Oscars sister needs money, too. But instead of peddling his last bag of weed, he dumps it in the ocean, vowing never to go back to prison.A flashback to his days in lockup shows a visit between Oscar and his mom (Octavia Spencer). She gives him an ultimatum, its her last visit. Its the films best and most genuinely affecting scene.Elsewhere we are told how to feel, because other than playing his music a little loudly Oscar is ideal: he calls and texts his mom, idolizes his daughter, he helps strangers and strays alike. He even calls his grandma to help a total stranger out with a fish-fry recipe. The Grant familys ties are evident at New Years Eve dinner, which also happens to be moms birthday. Dinner starts with prayer before grannys famous gumbo, and ends with Oscars mom suggesting that he take the train into town instead of the car. Its a fatal mistake.The film is heartbreak from beginning to end. The opening features actual cellphone video footage of the shooting. And later, officers wont let Sophina ride in the ambulance, nor will doctors allow mom into the room with Oscars body, his death having being ruled a homicide. Its a confident debut from Coogler, who uses jerky camerawork to keep viewers slightly off balance. Oscars mundane day is fraught with anticipation because we know from the end from the start. The ominous lack of soundtrack just underscores the dread.Jordan (The Wire, Friday Night Lights) gives a compelling performance, taking the real Oscar Grant from national symbol of victimhood, violence and race, and giving him his due. Diaz is very good as Oscars girlfriend. But it is Octavia Spencers name that will be passed around at awards time, for her grounded and touching performance.Watch the film to find out how it all ends, and decide for yourself whether justice was served. On this side of the border, for the Yatim family, the search for answers is just beginning.
