ianenderby I watched this movie with the thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to see a story about people I had less in common with. It turned out to be a story about people who I was all too familiar with, which was devastating. Real people with real struggles in the real world.

dexton-84908 Fruitvale Station almost borders on documentary. For better or worse it feels pretty much based in the real world with no dramatization that I can see.An important film well acted. Can't help thinking though it could have been a little better and impactful.

Movie_Muse_Reviews It's hard to believe eight years after the death of Oscar Grant III at the hands of police on New Year's Day 2009 that things have only gotten worse. At the time of its release in 2013, "Fruitvale Station" colored the trial of George Zimmerman for the murder of Trayvon Martin, for which there was no conviction. Then came unrest in Ferguson, Missouri over the fatal shooting of Michael Brown and an ever-growing list of names: Eric Garner, Laquan McDonald, Alton Sterling – "Fruitvale Station" will be a relevant film for a long time.Like Grant, writer and director Ryan Coogler is a black man from Oakland. In fact, they were the same age when Grant was shot and killed while lying face down at the Fruitvale BART station. That's enough information to understand why Coogler made this film, but it's the way he tells Grant's story, among all the available options, that stands out and contributes something meaningful to the conversation of Grant's death – and life.Coogler's film is a dramatic retelling of the day leading up to the incident and its immediate aftermath. Most notably, about 60 of the film's 85 minutes take place before anything bad happens. Coogler does not want to focus on the minutiae of the events that took place at Fruitvale Station, nor the ensuing trial that trivialized every detail. He wants to focus on Grant's humanity and life, and how in a quick moment, it was snatched from him.Just in case any viewer comes in completely unaware, the film begins with actual cell phone footage of the incident. This looms heavy throughout the film, forcing us to constantly reckon with the knowledge that the man we see (played by Michael B. Jordan) will die. This puts a microscope on Coogler's screenplay, not only factually speaking, but why he shows us what he shows us.In that first hour, we meet Grant's girlfriend, Sophina (Melonie Diaz) and 4-year-old daughter, Tatiana, as well as other members of his family gathered to celebrate his mother's (Octavia Spencer) birthday. We watch him talk about the future with Sophina, play with Tatiana, try to get his grocery store job back, help a few strangers, and rendezvous with a drug dealer.Some of the scenes and interactions are a bit overly opportune given Grant's fate, but by and large we get a portrait of a complicated young man. Coogler makes a concerted effort to show us Grant's redeeming qualities and emphasizes accounts from loved ones suggesting he was trying to turn his life around, but at the same time he doesn't exclusively cast him in a favorable light. We get a flashback to his jail time, Sophina confronts him about a past affair, he's clearly still involved with drugs and he has a temper that sometimes leads him to be pushy and confrontational. All this to say, no matter which way the scales tip, when he ends up on the Fruitvale platform, "deserving" has nothing to do with it.The platform sequence, after all that buildup, is a riveting piece of filmmaking. Coogler edits together two perspectives, that of Grant and his friends' and that of the witnesses, in a few frantic, pulse-pounding minutes. Regardless of how Grant and his friends are portrayed and how the BART cops are portrayed, the escalation of events feels unbelievable and unfounded. It should never have happened, and yet so many must suffer the consequences."Fruitvale" profoundly crystallizes some of the reasons these tensions escalate and reminds us of the human, emotional impact these incidents have, regardless of the "character" of those involved and any race-related factors. Although no storyteller can be completely objective in interpreting events and facts around a sensitive case, Coogler's film doesn't make any arguments or attack racial injustice, but it does give all of us a reminder and a reason to make sure no one else has to die under similar circumstances.~Steven CThanks for reading! Visit Movie Muse Reviews for more

parablane The true story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, an ex convict who is struggling to integrate back into society. The film shows the last day of his life interacting with his girlfriend young daughter and Mother as well as family members.In the evening on the way to a new years eve party with his girl friend Sophina and friends he gets into an altercation with a former prisoner on board a train. Due to the incident the train is stopped at Fruitvale Station where heavy handed Police then try to restrain Oscar and his friends. This leads to one of the officers shooting him which he later dies from in hospital.Michael B Jordan's whose star is definitely on the rise is excellent here, his talent was evident from his memorable performance in season 1 of David Simon's TV masterpiece The Wire, as the tragic young drug dealer Wallace. Octavia Spencer and Melanie Diaz offer great support as Oscar's Mum and Girlfriend.It could be argued that director Ryan Coogler paints Oscar rather positively but he makes no secret from the flashback footage of him in prison that he is previously a violent offender prone to confrontation. That might make some think that Grant was on his way to his fate but this is an incredibly black and white way of interpreting this tragedy. Despite his background and behaviour nothing excuses the treatment he receives from the law enforcement officers, their behaviour is reprehensible and brings into question their extreme methods that lead to Oscar's death.Although initially a charge of murder was bought against the Officer, his excuse that he mistook his gun for his taser got him off on a manslaughter charge and only served 11 months of his 2 year sentence.I understand there have been some playing around with the facts here to do with Oscar's time leading up to the event which have had some criticise it's veracity but the fact a cop supposedly mistook his gun for his taser is incredibly disturbing. This is a hugely tragic and shocking tale which left me initially numb then very angry.