Regardless of the dramatic license the filmmakers may or may not have taken, it does not lessen the impact or the importance of Oscar Grant's story. It's like Coogler wants to make sure we don't forget how bad it's going to get, as if the legitimate footage at the outset was not enough. There are several portentous rumblings leading up to the night going wrong, characters expressing a bad feeling, Oscar's daughter mistaking fireworks for gunfire, and the like, that even if based on actual accounts, smack of witnesses allowing hindsight to amplify small moments or coincidences. Which isn't to say that Fruitvale Station isn't without its faults. The rawness of the abuse and the shooting is nauseating. There is no need to underline the injustice of what happened with anything declarative Coogler's staging allows for the events to speak for themselves. By the time Fruitvale Station reaches the tragic incident, we are so invested in the story, there is no getting out of it. Cinematographer Rachel Morrison ( Some Girl(s)) avoids tricky angles or showy techniques, eschewing the usual shaky-cam aesthetics so many others use in order to simulate "realness " rather, Morrison keeps it as straight as possible, using low-key lighting and maximizing her locations to give Fruitvale Station an immediacy that really pays off. The first-time director never gets fancy in how he puts Fruitvale Station together. Jordan brings an undeniable charisma to the screen, but he is also as natural in front of the camera as Coogler needs him to be. One doesn't get the sense that he's trying too hard to scrub up the man's image. As with anybody, he wasn't all good or all bad, he was just a regular person.Ĭoogler attempts to emphasize just how regular throughout his telling. He wasn't always the best boyfriend, but was generally courteous and helpful. Despite past mistakes, Oscar was a good son and father. Oscar spends part of the day planning for her party, which then would roll into the night on the town with his significant other (Melonie Diaz, Be Kind Rewind). December 31 was also the birthday of Oscar's mother (Octavia Spencer, who served as a producer, as well). Not that Fruitvale Station focuses entirely on the less happy aspects of the day.
Oscar was trying to stay on the straight and narrow and not fall back into slinging dope, even though that would be a quick and easy solution. Having recently lost his job at a grocery store, the unmarried father was facing some tough choices in order to keep feeding his little girl, as well as helping out his extended family when he could. As shown in the film, Oscar was in a difficult bind. Jordan ( The Wire), who attempts to portray the man in all his humanity, negatives included. Coogler's movie, which he wrote and directed, pieces together Oscar's last day. Ryan Coogler's 2013 docudrama Fruitvale Station begins with that cell phone footage before backing up to the prior morning.
Right up to the point when one of the guards fatally shot Oscar, who was face down on the concrete, in the back. Onlookers protested the harsh treatment of the men, all African Americans in their early 20s, and many recorded it on their cell phones. An altercation occurred, and while the other half of the fight, all white, managed to get away before security arrived, Oscar and his group were pulled from the train and detained by BART police. Just as the train pulled into Fruitvale Station, Oscar was spotted by some people he had a beef with from time he had spent in jail. On January 1, 2009, Oscar Grant III was taking the BART train from San Francisco to his home in Oakland, CA, returning with a group of friends, including his girlfriend, from New Year's Eve festivities across the way.
Please Note: The stills used here are taken from promotional materials and other sources, not the Blu-ray edition under review.
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