Selma
The first great decision the filmmakers of Selma made was not to make a Martin Luther King Jr. biopic. It’s not that biopics can’t be done well, it’s that there just so often unsatisfying at best (see: this year’s charming but ultimately unsatisfying “Theory of Everything” as reference). Selma is a very contained story – one that takes place in just a few months of screen time. That’s a drop in the bucket, even considering Dr. King’s sadly abbreviated life, but by focusing with greater detail on this particular action he was involved in, more understanding, resonance and meaning are reached. In simpler terms, this is a very, very good film. David Oyelowo plays Dr. King alarmingly well. He opens the pic by staring the audience straight in the eye as he practices his Nobel Peace Prize speech. He is exhausted, dressed in uncomfortably formal clothes and expresses his desire to go home with his wife, Coretta (Carmen Ejogo) and live a simple preacher’s life. As an audience in t...