LiveWire Film Critic Sam Bolton reviews Selma…
Selma is directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb and is the true story of Dr Martin Luther King as he tries to gain the rights to vote for black people in America during the 1960’s. On his travels around the USA he comes across the town of Selma in Alabama where he feels that his plans for marches would be a great place to start his protests.
The film does a really good job in understanding what Martin Luther King stood for and what he did to help the people of America and make it a better place. The actor playing MLK David Oyelowo does a fantastic job in playing a man that knows the difference between right and wrong and will stand up for the innocent. To be honest every single actor in the film does a really good job in showing who these people are and what they are trying to do to make things better.
The lighting and the cinematography the film really makes you feel that you are in the 1960’s, in fact it really make your feel that you are in Alabama, surrounded by all these wonderful people. The film overall has many fantastic aspects.
However the film does have a few flaws. One of which being that there aren’t really a variety of shots used, most of them are just all extreme close ups however when different shots are used the just make the film even more powerful.
So if you do want to see a fresh version of the noble story of Martin Luther King then I feel that this is a great film to check out.
Selma (12A) is currently screening at Cornerhouse. Book your tickets here.