{"id":1643,"date":"2015-06-19T16:11:36","date_gmt":"2015-06-19T20:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=1643"},"modified":"2026-10-07T12:42:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-07T16:42:41","slug":"selma-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=1643","title":{"rendered":"Selma-2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selma-2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Ava DuVernay<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring David Oyelowo<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #248<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"80013278\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed June 19, 2015<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/strong><\/p>\n

An Oscar-nominated factual feast, set in the mid-1960s during the Civil Rights movement, Selma (2014) is a retelling of the life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggles that black Americans endured during a tumultuous period in history.<\/p>\n

The film includes dealings with then-President Lyndon B. Johnson and the famous and important 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights march, which led to the signing of the pivotal Voting Rights Act of 1965.<\/p>\n

This film reminded me quite a bit of 2013’s The Butler in subject matter and style-ironic since Lee Daniels was slated to direct and instead signed on for The Butler.<\/p>\n

Both feature a charismatic, intelligent Black man struggling with racial issues.<\/p>\n

Despite being an independent undertaking, it is glossy, polished, and reflective of the time. Both The Butler and Selma boast a huge casts and feature historical political figures in a tumultuous era.<\/p>\n

Selma features a bevy of real-life figures from George Wallis to President Johnson to the obvious leader of the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., and his wife, Coretta Scott King, and the casting is very well thought out.<\/p>\n

Tim Roth, David Oyelowo, Tom Wilkinson, and Carmen Ejogo portray their roles professionally and passionately. None of the above received Oscar nominations, and I am okay with that.<\/p>\n

I didn’t feel any were definite standouts from a crowded field of talent, though Ejogo could have been in the running with her understated but compelling performance.<\/p>\n

I don’t share the drama surrounding the lack of expected Oscar nominations. The truth is, the film was included in the Best Picture category and won Best Song.<\/p>\n

While an emotional and compelling film, it is neither a masterpiece nor will it change the art of cinema, though I must stress it is good.<\/p>\n

I find Selma to be an important film- a look back on history and the shame and humiliation placed on blacks who attempted to obtain voting rights.<\/p>\n

A heartbreaking scene depicts a determined woman (played by Oprah Winfrey) being denied this right by a cold and racist authority figure as she is asked impossible and tricky questions to prove her patriotism, which, of course, she cannot possibly answer correctly.<\/p>\n

Yes, the film is directed by a Black woman (Ava DuVernay), and yes, one might argue that it has a Black point of view. However, the film successfully sympathetically portrays several white characters and avoids the assumption that all white people were racist in this period.<\/p>\n

Let’s face it- racism still exists, especially in the South, and in the 1960s even more so. I did not find the message in black people vs. white people’s terms, but rather as a humanistic struggle for rights.<\/p>\n

And the struggles continue, as the film makes abundantly clear.<\/p>\n

While King was a life changer to the black people of the United States, his life was abruptly cut short in his prime. One wonders how much more good this man could have achieved.<\/p>\n

The song “Glory” is an emotional, powerful number, especially during the marching and subsequent slaughter scenes, which are highly emotional and effective.<\/p>\n

And who will not become teary-eyed as the innocent marchers are beaten and treated like cattle, simply for taking a stand? One will gasp at the senseless bombing scene that rocks a building and takes four innocent little girls’ lives away with it.<\/p>\n

Selma transported me to a time before my time and helped me appreciate and understand the positive and negative experiences of a race of people not long ago.<\/p>\n

This film inspires and moves me, and it teaches me about a movement that occurred in 1965.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations: 1 win-<\/strong>Best Picture, Best Original Song-“Glory” (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Independent Spirit Award Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>Best Feature, Best Director-Ava DuVernay, Best Male Lead-David Oyelowo, Best Supporting Female-Carmen Ejogo, Best Cinematography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Selma-2014 Director Ava DuVernay Starring David Oyelowo Scott’s Review #248 Reviewed June 19, 2015 Grade: A- An Oscar-nominated factual feast, set in the mid-1960s during the Civil Rights movement, Selma (2014) is a retelling of the life and times of Martin Luther King Jr. and the struggles that black Americans endured during a tumultuous period … Continue reading Selma-2014<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,192,286,41,211],"tags":[6446,4628,4627,4419,3467,3174,1764,4144,2665,2027,5437,3975,895,4629,1409,6823,6254,4541,1754,2164,3138],"class_list":["post-1643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2014-films","category-dramas","category-historical-dramas","category-indiefilms","category-indie-dramas","tag-alessandro-nivola","tag-andre-holland","tag-ava-duvernay","tag-carmen-ejogo","tag-colman-domingo","tag-common","tag-cuba-gooding-jr","tag-david-oyelowo","tag-dylan-baker","tag-giovanni-ribisi","tag-jeremy-strong","tag-lakeith-stanfield","tag-martin-sheen","tag-niecy-nash","tag-oprah-winfrey","tag-stephan-james","tag-stephen-root","tag-tessa-thompson","tag-tim-roth","tag-tom-wilkinson","tag-wendell-pierce"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1643"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24738,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1643\/revisions\/24738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}