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Fruitvale Station Movie Review

Fruitvale Station is a 2013 biographical drama film directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan. It’s an important, but flawed indie.

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“You shot me.

I got a daughter…“

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It tells the story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old black man, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008. Based on a true story of police brutality, the movie is important as it showcased for the first time this particular issue in US society. But the film itself easily could and should have been a documentary as its subject wasn’t quite worthy of a narrative feature.

The result is a story that felt more important than truly great. I did respect the filmmakers for not making a martyr out of Oscar. Sure enough, he is portrayed as a flawed and at times even quite unlikable man. That was a brave choice that really worked. However, what did not work was the choice to depict his life before this incident, which honestly isn’t all that interesting, certainly not enough for a film treatment.

Michael B. Jordan did the best that he could with this weak role. This was one of his first big roles that catapulted him into stardom, so it was crucial for his career, but it’s far from his best works. Octavia Spencer is quite moving as the mother, but all the other characters were uninspired and entirely forgettable.

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Fruitvale Station is one of those movies that just makes you wait for the big moment that you know will eventually arrive, making the remainder of the story almost pointless. There is suspense in that wait, but not nearly enough to make it engaging. Ryan Coogler directed the movie with a lot of conviction, impressing everybody with his strong debut. The movie is also well edited, well shot and featuring realistic characters, dialogue and situations. It’s a well made film, but one that was a bit too melodramatic and heavy-handed for my taste.