Salem. Selma. Two places where persecution and prejudice took place and mark a dark page in American history. While this movie is only about the latter, it’s just very interesting that both towns are an anagram of each other and the same sort of problems happened in both places.
Directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb and DuVernay, “Selma” is a fantastic presentation of the Selma to Montgomery Right to Vote Marches of 1965. With the Golden Globe of Best Original Song and four Golden Globe nominations- Best Motion Picture, Director, Drama and Actor, Selma is deserving of those nominations.
David Oyelowo plays the role of Martin Luther King Jr. with amazing finesse and ability. His mannerisms and acting style are very reminiscent of King. Tom Wilkinson plays the morally conflicted President Lyndon Johnson clashing with King and the governor of Alabama, George Wallace (played by Tim Roth) over the voting rights marches.
Some experts have raised qualms about the historical accuracy about the events in the film, particular the tense interactions between King and Johnson, but director DuVernay counters this criticism by stating that she is a storyteller, not a historian, and thus able to tweak the details to suit her needs.
Even with this in mind, “Selma” presents all of the details, truthfully or not, with utmost respect to both sides of the civil rights movement.
“Selma” could have easily been a typical black versus white anti-racism movie. But it goes deeper than that. The hate crimes that occur are not blamed on one group of people, but rather on the ideals that fuel the hatred, such as racism.
An important aspect that “Selma” also points out as evil is the indecision and indifference people exhibit when such social issues come about. Simply put; doing nothing is the same as committing the evil itself. That’s where “Selma” got its power. It doesn’t rely on showing the whites beating down on the blacks. It gives you the middle ground and shows you the whole story besides just blaming it all on narrow minded white men.
“Selma” is a visual treat, with Bradford Young (“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”) handling the cinematography with expert skill. The grainy, muted colors of the film quality and the costuming give a good feel for the 60’s.
In high school and middle school, there would always be those movies the teachers would show on national holidays, usually including MLK day.
I hope that this is one of those movies that they show. It is very well done and even though slightly inaccurate, it gets the point across with enough emotion and power to make it worthwhile and gives you a good insight on the dream and fight for peace by one man.
