Selma, which tells the story of Martin Luther King’s history making marches to the Alabama town of the title, has been mired in accusations of leaving aside some facts. Unhappily for director Ava DuVernay, it’s also the one big film that has since been Oscar snubbed. This is unfortunate: for all the accusations of messing with the truth (which, in a nutshell boil down to painting President Lyndon Johnson as a baddie rather than Luther King’s brave ally), Selma gets its message straight from the off.
It’s a powerful, if sepia-tinged, piece of film-making from DuVernay, who hones in on the period in 1965 after Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech and Nobel Peace Prize. Selma (the town) becomes a flashpoint for the battle to give African Americans the right to vote; a place where non-violent resistance meets violent force.
In the background, Luther King wheels and deals with politicians, unaware they’re conspiring to take him down with a less-than-messianic tape of him conducting an affair. All of this is handled with great authority and gravitas by a largely British cast, led impressively by David Oyelowo.
Oprah pops up in a supporting role, nervously applying to pass the test for citizenship that would allow her character to vote (non spoiler alert: the test is rigged just as the entire game is). It’s a moment that sticks in the mind, taking you from 1965 to 2015 and the police shootings of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin. Whatever about the supposed historical inaccuracies, it’s a film that’s resonating with contemporary America.
Like Tina Fey kidded at the Golden Globes, Selma is a film about the civil rights movement and how it changed everything and America’s totally cool now, right? Well, no – sadly the issues surrounding Selma have not yet been confined to history.
Credits
Text Colin Crummy