Fruitvale Station Review

On July 15, 2012, two Lake County police officers where pursuing a man and tracked him to a residential neighborhood. They found his motor cycle outside of a house and approached. They banged on the door, without announcing themselves, and kicked it in. When they were inside they saw a man holding a gun, they then shot twenty two year old Andrew Scott dead. The problem was, Andrew wasn't the man they were looking for; it wasn't even the right house, the person they were looking for was next door. They claimed they shot because he was holding a gun and it was self defense; but if two people come banging on your door in the middle of the night without announcing themselves, it's reasonable to have a gun for protection. The problem with this is that neither of the police officers faced serious punishment for this, just probation. The fact that two police officers didn't have enough sense to make sure it was the right house, didn't announce themselves, then kicked in the door and shot an innocent man, and they weren't charged with any sort of crime is just wrong. I believe it is the job of the strong to protect the weak, that day the police did not protect the weak. And on January 1, 2009, the police did not protect Oscar Grant. Fruitvale Station is the directorial debut of Ryan Coogler, and is the true life story of a young black man living in Oakland, California named Oscar Grant. Oscar is a f*ck up, he's a two time felon, he recently got fired from his job, he just can't get it together. He has a girlfriend and a daughter, and all he wants is to take care of them. So he finally decides it's time, he stops his questionable activities and even hopes to marry his girlfriend. The events take place on New Year’s Eve, Oscar and all his friends want to go into the city and have some fun. They decide to take the train so they don't get stuck in traffic. Everything goes smooth, until Oscar runs into a member of the Aryan Brotherhood he knew in prison. After that, things go from bad to worse. To call this movie emotional would be an understatement. I have cried three times watching movies, this movie made me tear up. This movie is tragic like few others in recent memory. One thing I would like to commend this movie on is the acting; the entire cast does an outstanding job. The writing is also top notch, it feels very real. The only problem I have is that the movie is slow up until the last half hour. Other than that this is a top notch movie, especially for a directorial debut. This is an important movie, it shows that people are given power and they will abuse it. And when they do they won't always face the consequences; if you going to the theater this weekend, this is the movie to watch.

4/5 Stars