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The ‘60s marked a chaotic time for our country, with tensions building both at home and overseas. Director Ava DuVernay’s historical drama, Selma, focuses on one of the historic battles fought on our own soil, offering a behind-the-scenes look at a crucial moment in the civil rights movement.
Selma takes place in 1965, when African-Americans were legally allowed to vote yet were prevented from registering by poll taxes, fear tactics, and various other methods. After a meeting with President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson), Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (David Oyelowo) realizes that the White House will do nothing to help their cause, so he heads to Selma, Alabama, to lead the protest against the injustices suffered at the hands of the authorities. But as he faces resistance from other organizations, problems within his own family, and increasing violence from the police, King struggles with his own fears and doubts.
Selma shows the passions and politics that shaped this turbulent time in our nation’s history, exploring the decisions that drove the movement. It’s a tense and emotional film, and audiences are sure to experience the anger, the outrage, the frustration, and the heartbreak right along with Dr. King and his friends.
While the film focuses on the challenges in Selma, though, it also offers just a glimpse inside Dr. King’s personal battles—of the doubts and uncertainties, the feelings of helplessness, the emotional exhaustion, and strain that his work placed on his family and his marriage. Throughout his time in Selma, he has second thoughts. He fears for the safety of the people following his lead. He’s angered by the President’s unwillingness to help. And he mourns for those caught up in the shocking, senseless violence. He may be a strong, inspiring leader, but he’s still human—and he still relies heavily on the support and encouragement of those closest to him.
As eye-opening and emotional as the story may be, though, it’s Oyelowo’s stunning starring performance that makes the film feel real. He seems to embody King’s spirit, conveying both his strengths and his weaknesses with grace and skill. He even manages to master King’s distinctive speech patterns—to the point that you might sometimes forget that you’re watching a dramatization instead of a History Channel biography.
Selma isn’t another sugar-coated version of the civil rights story. It’s often harsh and violent and difficult to watch—and it shows Dr. King as a man with strengths, weaknesses, fears, and (most of all) an unshakable desire to change his world. And that makes it a powerful and honest portrayal of an important time in our history.
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