REVIEW: FRUITVALE STATION

There is an impending doom that runs through Ryan Coogler's feature film directorial debut "Fruitvale Station." Like the movie that landed in my top five films of 2012 last year, "Lincoln," "Fruitvale Station" is actual history, and from the opening sequence with actual cell phone footage shot from an onlooker at the train station you know the fate of Mr. Oscar Grant III. A cop who allegedly thought he was tasering Grant shot him in the back, fatally wounding him. But fatally wounded is such a politically correct word, the cop killed Grant. He murdered him, albeit maybe unintentionally, but the movie takes no bias and clearly shows the cops aggravated and eager to ruffle up Grant and his friends in order to "keep the peace."

Only eye witnesses know what happened that day, but I have to review the movie in front of me. If the officers were pistol-whipping Grant and his crew and laughing at them, then yes, I'd say there were liberties taken with the film. But it seems to me that this is a fairly accurate dramatization, if to call it that, which is a tad condescending. Coogler's film is a movie that transcends its 2D theater limitations, and asks the viewer tough questions in a post Trayvon Martin world. Whether it's "Big Brother" contestants, Paula Deen or the aforementioned verdict that enraged blacks nationwide, this summer will go down in the textbooks as having serious racial undertones spawning throughout, begging the question "Have we really moved on?"

Jordan could win his first ever Oscar...

These were all the thoughts racing in my mind as I watched this puissant cinematic accomplishment, showcasing a day in the life of a man who was far, far from a hero. Blasting the worst kind of trap rap music in his car, selling dope and having a late streak at his grocery store job, Grant isn't exactly Superman. At the very young age of 22 he's already been incarcerated, and has crossed with the wrong sort of people, the type of people that openly insult his mother when she visits him. His girlfriend Sophina and his daughter Tatiana are the only ones keeping him from diving back into the game: the game where no one wins, and everyone comes out harmed as a result. For Oscar, I'm sad to say, it was too late, and his past caught up to him, ultimately leading to his demise on the train station, despite buying crabs for his mom's birthday, attempting to help an injured animal, and other good deeds that demonstrated his willingness to wipe his slate clean.

...and Spencer could be on her way to a 2nd

Michael B. Jordan, who I watched recently on DVD in "Chronicle" has not made this man a screen icon, but a human being. Characters are often just characters, but Jordan's Oscar is a human being, a man with flaws and mistakes and demons. He doesn't want his past to spill into his present and affect the daughter and girlfriend he so cherishes. Expect at the least an Oscar nod for Jordan, and at the most expect a full box of Oscars for "Fruitvale" to win come early March. Filmed with utter realism and recognizable details in scenes like Oscar's family having a birthday supper, and even small things like an Obama "Hope" sticker on a gas station; I love the little details gone into crafting a film of this caliber. It explodes and hits you in the gut like the backfire of a shotgun. Melonie Diaz (Sophina) and Octavia Spencer (his mother) both come bringing their A-game, and their talent is fully realized and showcased when it's revealed Oscar hasn't made it.

Even when Grant is simply racing his daughter, who he lovingly calls "T" to their car, I filled up a little, knowing a man capable of compassion would be shot down without a fighting chance. I've praised films like "The Great Gatsby" and "Mud" this year for having lush cinematic qualities to them: visual style and storytelling respectively. But "Fruitvale Station" goes beyond being unique and brave film making; it is the most important, relevant movie you'll see this year.

Rating: 4/4 stars