9/10
This review will be short and to the point. This film is 90 minutes of what seems to be just the boring last day of 2008 in the life of a struggling Bay Area black man with financial issues, a daughter, and a girlfriend. Throughout the last day of the year, we see a man who on the outside is just a another guy, but I don't think he was.
We follow this man for about 75 minutes. 75 minutes of real, raw insight as to who this guy is. As we all know, the tragedy that took place those few years ago resulted in Oscar being wrongfully shot and killed. Now I don't know just how accurate these last day's events are, but I did a bit of reading and it turns out that the main plot points of the film are actually true, but you have to see it to understand just how much the movie makes you care about him. I wanted to know him, I wanted to lend him some money, I wanted to help him out and maybe babysit his daughter, I wanted to see him succeed. Just the way Oscar was portrayed, it was just so hard to see him come to his inevitable conclusion.
I am a 17 year old male, and I see at least 2 or 3 movies a week. I love movies, love them...and this one was the first time in a long time that brought me to tears. And it's even more bizarre because I *knew* he was gonna die, because...well Oscar Grant died! The director/writer Ryan Coogler is deserving of some very hefty credit for this film, because Oscar Grant is painted in such a bright light. The way he interacts with all the people in the film make you want to find him in real life and just be his friend! The way the film was written was so right. So perfectly written. I feel that not a single sentence was superfluous to the film. Every action, every word just added onto the tug on the viewers heartstrings to wish Oscar Grant was alive and well today. The movie just had some of the best character development I had ever seen.
You could be a complete racist, have hatred for any black people out there, or just not care about people in general, but if you see this movie, I can just about guarantee you that the heart and soul of Oscar Grant being portrayed on the big screen will make you care about him to a point where you will shatter at the climactic yet mysteriously shocking ending.
Even though I knew exactly how it happened, and had seen the footage of the shooting many times, I was just as broken as if I didn't know the ending. VERY fine filmmaking here.
Rest In Peace Oscar.
This review will be short and to the point. This film is 90 minutes of what seems to be just the boring last day of 2008 in the life of a struggling Bay Area black man with financial issues, a daughter, and a girlfriend. Throughout the last day of the year, we see a man who on the outside is just a another guy, but I don't think he was.
We follow this man for about 75 minutes. 75 minutes of real, raw insight as to who this guy is. As we all know, the tragedy that took place those few years ago resulted in Oscar being wrongfully shot and killed. Now I don't know just how accurate these last day's events are, but I did a bit of reading and it turns out that the main plot points of the film are actually true, but you have to see it to understand just how much the movie makes you care about him. I wanted to know him, I wanted to lend him some money, I wanted to help him out and maybe babysit his daughter, I wanted to see him succeed. Just the way Oscar was portrayed, it was just so hard to see him come to his inevitable conclusion.
I am a 17 year old male, and I see at least 2 or 3 movies a week. I love movies, love them...and this one was the first time in a long time that brought me to tears. And it's even more bizarre because I *knew* he was gonna die, because...well Oscar Grant died! The director/writer Ryan Coogler is deserving of some very hefty credit for this film, because Oscar Grant is painted in such a bright light. The way he interacts with all the people in the film make you want to find him in real life and just be his friend! The way the film was written was so right. So perfectly written. I feel that not a single sentence was superfluous to the film. Every action, every word just added onto the tug on the viewers heartstrings to wish Oscar Grant was alive and well today. The movie just had some of the best character development I had ever seen.
You could be a complete racist, have hatred for any black people out there, or just not care about people in general, but if you see this movie, I can just about guarantee you that the heart and soul of Oscar Grant being portrayed on the big screen will make you care about him to a point where you will shatter at the climactic yet mysteriously shocking ending.
Even though I knew exactly how it happened, and had seen the footage of the shooting many times, I was just as broken as if I didn't know the ending. VERY fine filmmaking here.
Rest In Peace Oscar.