It's haunting, giving chills and an uneasy feeling that lasts the duration of the film because you know what's to come. The film begins with actual cell phone footage showing unarmed Grant, who wasn't aggressive or violent, being shot. Early in the morning of New Year's Day of 2009, 22-year-old Oscar Grant was shot by a transit police officer at the the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Fruitvale station just outside Oakland, California. If you wish to keep the details in the dark – like I felt I needed to do – then skip to the next paragraph now. Little did I know that my efforts were asinine because the movie's opening sequence is the ending of the true story. Having heard the buzz from Sundance (where it won both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards) and knowing that it was based upon a true story that I wasn't familiar with, prior to seeing 'Fruitvale Station,' I avoided spoilers and news about the real story at all cost. It's not my intention to get political with this review, and I certainly will not push my opinion of the Zimmerman case on you, but 'Fruitvale Station' undeniably gained public traction because of the link between the two – yet it definitely didn't need the Zimmerman trial to be deemed a successful and powerful film. With the trail revolving around a man shooting an unarmed black teen, the thematic and equally true story of 'Fruitvale' matched the unjust sentiment. Such was the case with the release of 'Fruitvale Station.' The Weinstein Company's nationwide expansion of 'Fruitvale' happened just as the ruling in the George Zimmerman trial came in. Being coincidental, the distributor could not have planned the movie's opening for a better time, as the news story will make the relevance of the film all the more potent. Occasionally, a film will open while real life events of a matching tone or theme are playing out. Oscar’s life and tragic death would shake the Bay Area – and the entire nation – to its very core. His resolve takes a tragic turn, however, when BART officers shoot him in cold blood at the Fruitvale subway stop on New Year’s Day. Crossing paths with friends, family, and strangers, Oscar starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easily. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), whose birthday falls on New Year’s Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz), who he hasn’t been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. Jordan), a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of Decemand feels something in the air. dramatic film at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, director Ryan Coogler’s FRUITVALE STATION follows the true story of Oscar Grant (Michael B. Overview - Winner of both the Grand Jury Prize for dramatic feature and the Audience Award for U.S.
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