Jan 10, 2015
It may be hard to believe, but there has never a movie about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He’s been the subject of several TV movies and miniseries over the years, but it’s pretty amazing to consider that the greatest civil rights leader in American history went without a grand cinematic portrayal a full 22 years after the far more controversial activist Malcolm X was graced with a movie by Spike Lee.
That all changes this weekend with the release of “Selma,” a rousingly powerful depiction of King’s quest to lead a peaceful march for civil rights from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, and the powerful authoritarian forces that attempted to stop him. Stunningly directed by Ava DuVernay, “Selma” is far from a staid and dated portrayal of a historic figure, but rather a vibrant and fully alive work that speaks directly to our still-troubled race relations and the often-contentious relationship between police and the African-American community.
Starring British actor David Oyelowo as King, the movie opens with a stirring example of the contradictions the icon dealt with on a constant basis. He’s shown accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, while back home in the states four young African-American girls were killed when a bomb devastated their church in Selma.
It is immediately clear that King has to make Selma ground zero in the battle for immediate voting rights. But as he moves into town, King is under pressure from constant mysterious surveillance by the FBI – including their attempts to destroy his marriage by playing audio tapes of his marital infidelities to his wife, Coretta – as well as vicious hatred from much of the local white community and even backlash from some young black activists who are resentful that he will overshadow their own efforts.
King is also in frequent contact with President Lyndon Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), who wants to help King achieve his goals but is trying to take a few years, rather than immediate action, in order to face less resistance from the nation’s bigots. Ultimately, King settles upon the idea of the 10-mile march to Montgomery as a dramatic way to show thousands of black citizens observing nonviolent protests for the right to vote.
It is in the attempt to march that DuVernay and her incredible cast succeed in creating a horrifying and indelible record of the absolute evil the protesters were subjected to. King isn’t along on the first attempt, when everything from bullets to horseback policemen wielding whips were unleashed on the crowd, but when he leads them back a second time with a much bigger and racially mixed crowd from around the nation, the world is watching and the movie becomes a vital example to current protesters of racial injustice.
Some former Johnson associates, as well as scholars, have criticized “Selma” for its portrayal of President Johnson, claiming that it portrays him as more of a villain than he actually was. They believe the film portrays him as being the driving force behind the FBI’s attempts to discredit King and that the movie doesn’t give him credit for the idea of the marches.
Yet others say that such credit is questionable, and the overall tone of the movie seems to respect Johnson and show him as a man caught between a rock and a hard place as the nation was facing horrible divisions. The final impression is one of a leader who went with the forces of change when they could no longer be denied, rather than violently obstructing them.
Led by Oyewolo’s commanding and emotionally eclectic performance and infused with a riveting sense of time and place that will make now-distant history seem fully alive and of the moment, “Selma” is one of the most important movies of the past year and could serve as a vital reminder amid our current protests that the best way to demand change from authorities is not to kill them or fight back with violence. It lies in the strength that faith provides, and the knowledge that if enough evil is met with a noble response, the hearts of society will demand change.