Selma Movie Review

Selma stars David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, and Oprah Winfrey. It is the story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fight to end segregation. This movie focuses mainly one part of that, a town named Selma where African-Americans are being denied their legal right to vote. There is a lot riding on this movie because it focuses on one of the most influential men in U.S. history. So was it a good portrayal or was it inaccurate? 

I went and saw this movie with my Grandmother who was in college when these events took place. I love my grandmother, but sometimes she has a hard time staying awake for an entire movie inside a dark theatre. She was wide awake the entire time. This movie is great!
The story of this film is so well written that even though you know how it is going to end, you are still really engaged in the film the entire time while it is playing. One of the things I was a little nervous about going into this film were the speech scenes. Martin Luther King Jr. is such an iconic speaker who wrote some brilliant speeches. I have to say, those scenes were some of my favorite scenes in the entire movie. Every time he was giving a speech whether it was in a church or in front of a building or wherever, it was just so mesmerizing!
I did feel like the film was a little long, not terribly though. There were a few scenes here and there that could have been trimmed a little shorter but it's not too bad. The run-time is still a reasonable two hours so I can't complain that much.
The acting in this film is also incredible. The best performance of the entire film is definitely that of David Oyelowo as Dr. King. His performance in this film is just so good! There was so much of this film riding on his performance, and he did not disappoint. He definitely deserves at least an Oscar nomination for his portrayal. 
Oprah Winfrey and Carmen Ejogo are also really good in the film. I liked how big of a character Ejogo had as King's wife because it really humanized him. It really made it apparent that he is just a man. He is not perfect. Oprah Winfrey (as expected) is great as well. I hear a lot of people say they don't wan't see Oprah in movies because she is so recognizable. I'm telling you, I didn't see Oprah in this movie, I saw Annie Lee Cooper. She is a great actress! Those who refuse to see movies with her in them are just starving themselves of some great acting.
The music in this film is also something that has to be brought up. The music just fit the film so well that I really felt the need to bring it up. Don't be surprised if it ends up getting some awards.
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. You should definitely go see. Especially if you don't know much about Martin Luther King Jr. He is such an inspirational man, and this movie really portrays that well. It is pretty cool how this film came out right before Martin Luther King Jr. Day so now you have something to do on your day off that actually deals with the holiday.
9/10

So what do you think of Selma? Will you be seeing this movie on Martin Luther King Jr. Day? Let me know by commenting on this post!

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