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Jul 15, 2013 · “Fruitvale Station” is about what we can imagine when we cast our gaze across the longstanding divides in this persistently, cancerously segregated American society. Like Paul Haggis’ “Crash,” it is an ambitious do-gooder project aimed at penetrating hardened hearts.
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Rated 5/5 Stars • Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/28/23 Full Review Audience Member Fruitvale Station is the heartbreaking story of Oscar Grant's unjust murder by the hands of law enforcement. It...
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- Ryan Coogler
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- Michael B. Jordan
Fruitvale Station Reviews. All Critics. Top Critics. All Audience. Verified Audience. Jeffrey Peterson Indie Film Minute. Coogler’s Fruitvale Station is less about American violence and more...
Ryan Coogler's brilliantly observed and very moving debut feature is based on the true story of the shooting of a 22-year-old African-American man at a railway station in Oakland, California, on...
- Geoffrey Macnab
- A powerful true story.
- Verdict
By Alicia Malone
Posted: Jul 12, 2013 6:09 pm
Fruitvale Station may be writer/director Ryan Coogler’s first feature film, but already he has mastered the gentle art of heartstring tugging. The movie begins with grainy, shaky, real cell phone footage of a group of young African-American guys sitting on the ground at a train station. It’s hard to make out exactly what is happening, but there’s a bit of shouting, mainly from the white police officers standing over them. One of the young guys is being held down on the ground by a police officer. He’s squirming, there’s a bit of a commotion, some more shouting, then BANG! All of a sudden, the police officer has fired his weapon and the young guy is not moving anymore.
It’s a powerful way to start the film - right at the end of this sad, true story. In the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2009 at Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California, Oscar Grant III was fatally shot in the back by a transit police officer. The officer claimed it was an accident, saying he was reaching for his taser instead of his gun, but regardless one man’s life was ended for no reason.
After that shocking start, Coogler backtracks to 24 hours earlier, with a still alive Oscar (Michael B Jordan) cuddling with his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) in a small apartment bedroom, smoking weed and hiding it when their four-year-old daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal) interrupts them. It’s a quick and effective way to set up Oscar’s poor financial status, his illegal activities and his desire to try to make things right. From there Coogler takes us through what seems like an ordinary day, following Oscar for the full 24 hours.
Over this time we get to know and like this flawed character. He is quick-tempered, and doesn’t always make the best decisions but we see that he also has a good side; he helps out a shopper at the supermarket he was recently fired from (Ahna O’Reilly) and buys food for dinner at his mother’s (Octavia Spencer) house. We watch, interested in the characters, all the while not being able to forget what is coming next.
First time filmmaker Ryan Coogler has made a powerful film, building incredible tension by starting at the sad end, and following the protagonist in the last 24 hours of his life. Michael B Jordan and Octavia Spencer give strong enough performances to warrant future Oscar talk.
Jul 18, 2013 · Score: 5/10. NARRATIVE FRUSTRATIONS, BUT REAL EMOTIONS. Variety caught flak for running an extremely critical review of the film that reduced several crowds to tears at Sundance, then went on...
Jul 12, 2013 · Directed by Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station is highly ambitious, it is for the hardened hearts and Coogler has articulated his deep-rooted connection with the story flawlessly. The film is based on the real-life tragic shooting that happened at Fruitvale Station on the New Year’s Eve of 2009.
