This is the true story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old Black man in Oakland, California, who was shot dead by police in the morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009. Incidentally, 2009 was also the time when smartphones started going mainstream, and so the incident was not only captured by CCTV but also many private cell phone cameras. The murder went viral.
Grant is superbly played by Michael B. Jordan in what now counts as one of his breakthrough roles, when many only knew him as Wallace in the now-legendary crime drama The Wire. Director Ryan Coogler went on making two more movies with him, including Black Panther in 2018.
Produced by Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker and compassionately told, Fruitvale Station surpasses the sadness of its subject matter and amounts to an extraordinary celebration of life. A must-watch.
"Fruitvale Station sums up Oscar's life, but the act of summing up can tell us only so much, since a young life is still a maze of promise and indecision."
— David Denby
"The actual events already serve as a parable of race in America, but Coogler's dramatization does them justice."
— Nicolas Rapold
Oakland, California. Young Afro-American Oscar Grant crosses paths with family members, friends, enemies and strangers before facing his fate on the platform at Fruitvale Station, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009.
Cannes
1 win, 2 nominations
Spirit Awards
1 win, 2 nominations
Sundance
2 wins
Nat. Board of Review
4 wins
NYFCC
1 win
Beautiful use of 16mm.
Even if you don’t care about the subject (which you should btw), watch it just for the visuals.
Ryan Coogler, the man, the legend.. the guy who will go on to make Black Panther and Creed (both with Michael B. Jordan). This movie was his star-making moment. And what an introduction to the world it is…
Another senseless tragedy, but my take on it is this… stop scaring the dumb police who are already scared of you! Even if that cop did think it was his taser, there is no need to do this to one who is cuffed and prone! And what is with the knee on the neck? That’s a personal, and unprofessional anger. The fact he was a good dad hurts the situation worse. I’m upset about the current events, but that boy Elijah McClain is one that will haunt me when it comes to the pigs and their brutality. Let there be a ‘civil’ war against this. I will fight with anyone when it comes to injustice!