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Film Review
MLK comes to the big screen in "Selma"

At the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., 600 Black men and women marching for civil rights stand 50 feet from state troopers and sheriff's deputies, warned that their peaceful protest will not be allowed forward. They are given two minutes to disperse. Seconds later, the troopers attack with billy clubs and tear gas, sending 58 of the demonstrators to the hospital. March 7, 1965 would forever be stained by this event as "Bloody Sunday."

The scene is recreated, realistically and painfully, in director Ava DuVernay's film "Selma," which received a limited theatrical release on Christmas Day and expanded nationwide Jan. 9.

"Selma" marks the first time civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has been portrayed on the big screen. It's a daunting task, but British-Nigerian actor David Oyelowo is awe-inspiring in his performance. He boils the myth down and focuses on showing us Dr. King as a man, who laughs and has moments of fear and makes mistakes, but who is also passionate and reflective. It is a brave take.

The film succeeds as history come to life, showing exactly what it was like to be an activist on the frontlines of the battle that led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
Selma is especially timely with the recent protests across the world over the killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island.

"You look out your window and see people protesting, and then look at 'Selma' and it looks similar," Oprah Winfrey told the NY Daily News. Winfrey is one of Selma's producers and plays activist Annie Lee Cooper in the film.

"The people in the film are walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, just as people are marching in downtown Manhattan," Winfrey said.

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science recognized the achievements of "Selma" with two Oscar nominations, including Best Original Song for "Glory" by Common and John Legend, and Best Picture of the Year.

— Joseph Lopez