User Reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. It's not politically correct to criticize this movie, but it seems only fair to treat it as I do every other movie on which I comment. If that sounds like a bashing is coming, you are mistaken. In fact, this is an emotionally-charged, well written and exceptionally well-acted movie that provides much anticipation for the future projects of its first time director Ryan Coogler. However, in my opinion, it is also flawed in its "Based on a True Story" placard that is then followed by much manipulation (3 Oprah references), some of it even bordering on misleading.

If you are unfamiliar with the tragic story, 22 year old Oscar Grant was inexplicably shot and killed (while subdued and face down) by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) cop after watching New Year's Eve fireworks with his girlfriend and buddies. An altercation/fight occurred on the train and the officers pulled Grant aside to detain/arrest. Much of this was caught on cell phone video by train passengers, and the aftermath brought protests in the city. The officer was tried and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years. He claimed he mistook his gun for his Taser.

No one can argue that this was anything but a senseless tragedy. Director Coogler even begins his movie with actual cell phone footage of the incident. The ending is known and seared in the viewer's mind before the story even begins. Whether the senseless shooting was racially driven is a topic for debate, but the current media focus on the George Zimmerman trial and his killing of Trayvon Martin makes the timing of this movie quite compelling.

Coogler certainly points out that Grant (adeptly played by Michael B Jordan) was no angel. We learn about his prison stints, his drug dealing, his unfaithfulness to his girlfriend (the mother of his daughter), his lack of responsibility (losing his job due to chronic absence), his string of lies, and most glaringly ... his terrifyingly quick and violent temper. My issue with the film is the seemingly inordinate amount of time Coogler spends on the flip side -- the focus on Oscar's desire to get his life back on track. So much effort and so many scenes are written to exhibit how Oscar is a charming guy with a big heart. He helps out a white lady in the grocery store, he takes a big step towards leaving the drug dealing life, he plans his mother's birthday party, heck ... he even cradles a poor dog that was hit by a car. This inequity in storytelling apparently has only one purpose ... to create another symbol of racial injustice. We are not left to ponder if the real Oscar is the one who inspires his daughter to brush her teeth or the one who bows up to a foul-mouthed convict. Instead, Coogler wants us to believe that Oscar was now a good guy who had put his past behind him ... all in the 24 hours leading up to his death.

The fact is, there are two sides of Oscar, just like everyone has multiple facets to their personality. Most of us learn to control the sides that doesn't mesh well with society ... others really struggle to do so. Michael B Jordan delivers a powerful performance as Oscar, and he and Octavia Spencer (who plays his mom) will both garner awards attention. Other supporting work is provided by Melonie Diaz as his girlfriend, Ariana Neal as his precious daughter, Ahna O'Reilly as the shopper, and Kevin Durand and Chad Michael Murray as the BART cops.

This film was the hit of both Sundance and Cannes, and was produced by Forest Whitaker. A major tip of the cap to BART for allowing the filmmakers to work on location at the actual Fruitvale station, for a level of authenticity. Coogler chooses one last bit of manipulation with his closing video of Oscar's daughter Tatiana at a recent memorial outside of Fruitvale station ... followed by on screen text of the officer's two year sentence. We get no details on the trial, only the assumption that the sentence does not deliver justice, but rather another example of racial bias.

Lastly I'll say that the decision to make a dramatization rather than a documentary was interesting. This allowed the director to focus on Oscar the good guy. A documentary would have required facts from the trial, a better perspective of the train disturbance and probably fewer Oprah references. The dramatization makes the movie more emotionally charged and more effective at inspiring discussion, rather than debate. Despite all of that, this is extraordinary filmmaking from a first time director, and I will certainly look forward to Ryan Coogler's next project.

An independent film written and directed with stunning effectiveness by newcomer Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station is based on a true story, and even though its story of an unarmed black male who is shot on New Year's Day, is pulled from national headlines, the film is a character study of the choices in life and how a cruel twist of fate intervenes. It lingers in the heart and mind long after the end, and as such is one of the best films of the year.

We witness video footage of police rounding up black youths at a transit train station, and while the suspects are on the ground and restrained, a gun goes off striking one of them in full view of witnesses. What follows is a flashback account of the final day of Oscar Grant's life and the events leading up to New Year's Day 2009. Amid the backdrop of the Oakland Bay area, Oscar (Michael B. Jordan in a breakout performance) is a young black man whose background is a mix of prison, drug dealing, and failed jobs amid a serious relationship with his girlfriend, Sophina (Melonie Diaz), and their little daughter. He loves his family especially his mother (Octavia Spencer is rock solid) and vows to make a better life for them. It is New Year's Eve, and he helps to prepare his mother's birthday celebration. Just as he is on the brink of a new start, fate intervenes at a transit station and a deadly encounter with police.

Oscar is a man who has a conscience and a sense of responsibility. On the one hand he is portrayed as a devoted father, a passionate lover to his girlfriend, and loving son to his mom, and yet he lies to his loved ones and is in constant turmoil. It is affecting to see that he genuinely wants to leave behind his broken life and get a second chance. We root for him too, and that makes what happens at the end that much more compelling.

This is the sort of subject matter, which can be viewed as an indictment of police violence and a statement on racism that might have been ideal for HBO or a filmed documentary like The Thin Blue Line. You also expect to see a post-shooting trial, but the film focuses instead on the events and people around Oscar that lead up to the fateful moment. It is a portrait of a young, flawed life ended before it has a chance to redeem itself. We want to know a bit more about Oscar; what put him in prison, and what was his childhood like? Instead we get a fragment, one day in his life, about a father and his little daughter and the life they had and never will again. The final images of Oscar's real life daughter after the events depicted in the film are touching and sobering.

Coogler shows a good command of a scene and how to make it authentic. Moments of levity such as a group countdown to New Years are counterpointed by tense confrontations from the past. The dialogue is realistic, and you really feel you are watching a slice of real life. The pivotal scene of the police arresting Oscar and his friends is startling and upsetting; you feel like it could happen to you. The frantic reactions and emotions of the victims and witnesses as a shot rings out is heart wrenching.

Liberal use of hand-held cameras lends an immediacy and realism to the events, and there is a great shot of Sophina from behind as she reacts to the tragedy. We don't need to see her face because we know from her body language exactly how she must feel.

One wonders how much of the screenplay is based on truth, but whether this is or isn't a biased view of an event by the filmmaker, it is highly emotionally affective filmmaking. In light of other recent, racially charged headlines, it cannot help but become a hot topic. This vivid, stark reenactment of an event that should never have happened is a relatively simple tale of a complex life, a kind of urban, American tragedy. It is a powerful, filmic statement that raises questions that demand answers.

This film depicts story of a deeply flawed young man struggling to turn his life around. The movie reveals the generous good-hearted nature of Oscar, on whose life the story is based. The awards the film has won are well deserved, as the film-maker succeeds in presenting an unsparing look at Oscar's many failings even as he humanizes this young man whose life is largely unknown to the American public. In a quite amazing fashion, all of this is done through the lens of a single day in Oscar's life, with only the aid of one brief flash-back.

Despite his efforts and his kindness, Oscar is failing to transcend his past as much as he is succeeding in doing so. His struggle to change is fueled by his relationships with three women central to his life, and we are on the edge of our seats watching his relationships play out with them, knowing before the movie begins how it will end. It is a credit to the film-maker that he is able both to maintain that tension and at the same time to draw us into Oscar's world so effectively. This craftsmanship only underlines the tragedy of the final outcome more starkly.

It is sad that the review that wins pride of place on this website ignores Oscar and focuses on Officer Mehserle, who appears only briefly in the movie. The film does not demonize Officer Mehserle, and one might be tempted to do, but rather presents him as a blank slate. Surely, as those who witnessed the events appeared to do, and as the jury who found him guilty corroborated, we might well assume that he committed a crime. However, his motives are not suggested in the movie, his youth is clearly depicted, and his inexperience implied. Surely any professional, a doctor for example, who makes a mistake of motor memory under pressure and thus takes the life of another human being, should be held accountable for her actions to the full extent of the law.

Half way through the year and Fruitvale Station is looking to be the indie favourite of the Oscar season and its first hour quite deserves the hype. It begins with the shocking and raw real footage of the event the film documents and leaves the rest of the film on the strong dramatic irony that after these 24 hours all these characters lives will change and none of their plans will come to fruition. With this irony it makes the excellent character study all the more fascinating. Michael B. Jordan is terrific as Oscar Grant, giving a subtle convention-defying performance and he's well supported by Octavia Spencer and Melonie Diaz. I came to feel truly involved with Oscar, especially due to the intimate photography and detailed writing. It's very impressive work from such a young filmmaker who's the same age as the real Oscar Grant.

However, as the film appears to set up a lot of meaningful things in the first hour, in hindsight, they feel aimless. I thought the setups were great. The way Oscar lies but has strong paternal instincts. He's been to prison but he's kind at heart. He's cheated and flirts but he's close to all generations of his family. It's touching and each scene gives him more depth. This is why it's such a painful shame that by the time the film reaches the Fruitvale station scene that all of the potential setups are thrown away in favor of chaotic sentimentality. I'm not sure if Coogler is trying to say that it's because of the content of Oscar's character is why he was put in that situation with both his good sides and bad sides. But the ruckus that puts him in the spotlight is instigated by something that's set up earlier in the film in a blink-and-miss-it scene and renders the whole sequence very confusing.

Sure, what happened to the real Oscar was very sad and I'm certain that it felt chaotic to everyone who witnessed it but I can't help but feel that Coogler ended up not knowing what he wanted to say with the film. It can't possibly be about racial issues because there's not enough development on that. It can't be about injustice regarding police because it's only present for about 5 minutes. Maybe the film could've been saved if it showed the remaining characters trying to cope but it leaves on a hopeless note. It's unfortunate that Coogler turns an intelligent fascinating character study into a flat unpleasant sadfest and it renders the power of the emotions unsatisfying. Maybe this is what he wants us to feel, but I believe the film could've been way better than that. Oh well, at least we have the first hour with the brilliant Michael B. Jordan.

7/10

Based on a true story of a 22-year old who was shot by a police officer on January 1st, 2009, without reason. We are taken through the last 24-hours, before the incident, through the victim's eyes. Oscar Grant says he wants to stop selling pot, promises he is done cheating on his partner and is going to be a better father to their 4 year old daughter. It's the last day of 2008 and it's going to prove to be a long one for Oscar, whose dark past is about to catch up to him.

Michael B. Jordan gives a great performance as Oscar. He makes it impossible to not like the character he is playing, even when it shows him acting detestable in a scene from his past. The film continues on, keeping things interesting enough that it's easy to forget we've already been shown what is going to happen.

Fruitvale Station does start to rot over the last few scenes. The film has already done it's job but then the director goes to such great lengths to try to squeeze tears out of us, we become aware: This movie is trying to make me cry.

Though guilty of being a little too obvious in it's emotional manipulation, Fruitvale Station is a promising feature film debut by writer/director Ryan Coogler.

This is a good film with great acting all around, directed by an emerging, enthusiastic filmmaker. With that being said, there is nothing special about its storytelling that makes it stand out.

First, the film starts with a "Based on a true story" disclaimer, which adds nothing but confusion to its content. The director has admitted that 'Katie' does not represent a real-life individual but a composite of multiple people, which implies that he has brought significant dramatization. Given that many narrative films today are inspired more or less by true events, this opening message only makes you wonder how much of the story is actually true.

Second, the film ends with a sequence of text-only frames which forces you to read multiple pages about what happens afterwards. A simple gimmick of, for example, adding actual still images to the background, or showing newspaper headlines, would have made this sequence more effective. Such creativity should be a no-brainer in this digital age, when everyone is equipped with a video-capable device, ready to become an instant YouTube correspondent in case of an emergency, as clearly demonstrated by this very film.

Last but not least, the film refuses to make any statement or offer any new insight, and you are eventually left to wonder what message to take away from it. It is a rather plain recreation of serial events, the fidelity of which is not even guaranteed. "Fruitvale" is ultimately saved by the splendid performances of its cast, adequate pacing, and high-adrenaline content, but left with much to be desired in the top-level concept.

I saw "Fruitvale Station", starring Michael B. Jordan-No, not the basketball player, notice the B. in the middle of his name? This one was in Red Tails, Friday Night Lights-t.v.; Melonie Diaz-Be Kind Rewind, Lords of Dogtown; Octavia Spencer-The Help, Drag Me to Hell and Chad Michael Murray-One Tree Hill-t.v., Dawson's Creek-t.v..

This is based on a true story about an incident in 2008 that happened in the Bay Area in California. Fruitvale Station, a mass transit train station, is where it happened, and actual video footage is shown at the beginning and end of the film. Michael plays a 22 year old African/American that has a 4 year old daughter with his Hispanic girlfriend, Melonie. Michael has been in trouble with both Melonie and his job. He has been late to work so much, that they fired him. He got into selling drugs and messing around on Melonie with other women and went to prison-for the drugs not the messing around part. Octavia plays Michael's mother, who has her birthday on New Year's Eve. After Michael gets out of jail, he decides to turn his life around-no more drugs, no more messing around and being a better father to his daughter. On New Year's Eve 2008, Michael and Melonie go to his mother's birthday party to celebrate. Afterwards, he and his wife and a few friends take the train to go see fireworks. A confrontation on the train with someone from Michael's more reckless past leads to a police involvement by Chad and some other police officers that gets out of hand. It is a moving and emotional story that has similarities to a recent story that was in the news. It's rated "R" for violence, language and drug use and has a running time of 1 hour & 30 minutes. It is not one that I would buy on DVD-once was enough- but it would be a good rental.

I was much moved by Fruitvale Station which is the name of one of the stations of the Bay Area Rapid Transit or BART as its known to the citizens of Oakland and San Francisco. On January 1 of 2009 among a group of crowded revelers on the BART train, an incident took place that cost young Oscar Grant his life.

Police shot young Grant and in this day of cellphone cameras which everyone but me seems to have it's impossible to get away with a lot of bad behavior. In this case the police shot Grant while he was cuffed and on the ground.

Oscar Grant is portrayed with deep insight by Michael B. Jordan and the film with some flashback sequences including one where he is in prison and has an incident that bears on what happened on 1/1/09, it's the story of his last day of life. We see a young man trying to turn his life around, a quite ordinary individual. Like in The Diary Of Anne Frank you are struck with just how ordinary young Mr. Grant was, just as the occupants of that 3rd floor attic.

I worked for several years at New York State Crime Victims Board before retirement and part of my job was to evaluate police work. I saw the gamut of work from truly heroic to unbelievably atrocious. The thing that always struck me was first assessment. Cops arrive on the scene and make an assessment immediately of who's bad or good. What happened on that BART train was nothing that Grant or his friends started, but cops on the scene, possibly as a result of prejudice made wrong judgments and that led to tragedy.

Fruitvale Station will get a flock of awards I've no doubt, maybe even in the big show with the Academy Awards. It's a fine film with lessons in it for all of us, especially those in law enforcement.

If you're not familiar with the real life event that the movie is based on. Here is a rundown, the film main purpose is to tell the true life events of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old man's last day before he was fatally shot by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) Police on accident in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009. Being from the Bay Area, and being an eye witness of the real life event. I found the movie by first time director Ryan Coogler to be very well made, and good, but also saw it as a political statement movie that took a lot of creative dramatic license. I will have to say that this is a thinking man's film. Some people will see it as a call for stronger gun-control, while others see it as anti-police movie. Some people think it was just create to stir the race issue and promote the every so often Hollywood moral message 'racism is bad'. While other may think this movie is just made to capitalize on a tragedy event and make money off, Oscar Grant's untimely passing. I thought it was a bit shameful to make a movie so soon after the events. They should have waited a bit. The real life shooting happen in 2009, as of this writing, a few years ago. In many people's eyes, that is still pretty fresh. It's a bit disrespectful for the victim's family to have relive or be reminded time after time, the moments of Oscar Grant's life went cold over and over again on a Hollywood film who main goal to make money. It's even more appalling when you think about it, for this movie's marketing to have the nerves to be promoting the film on a billboard at the Fruitvale Station where he got shot. I go to that station every day, and it's disrespectful to me. It's like promoting Oliver Stone 1991's JFK movie on the grassy knoll. It get even weirder that the movie scenes were shot at and around Fruitvale Station platform where Grant was killed in real life. In my opinion, the movie shouldn't had been made because it took so much creative license that it's misleading the audience to believe what they see is facts rather than looking for the truth. It's telling you exactly what it wants you to feel. There is no subtlety whatsoever. Just because I agree with that the tragedy was senseless politically, doesn't mean I can overlook the blatant manipulation with its deviations from the truth. Some creative license is allowed, especially since no one knows every detail that happened that day, but there are numerous things in it that are demonstrably false/made-up. The whole awkward Pit bull dog run over scene seem like a really strong string to make Oscar Grant look like a good guy. I thought the film had too many blatant attempts to make you like the guy. Even when they portrayed his flaws, it was supposed to show that he's on a path of redemption and thus elicit more emotion at the end. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, it's just isn't how I would explore the character. Yes, it's showcasing who Oscar Grant is as a human people, giving a back story to the face and name. I just have a problem with films that use current or recent real life tragedies for entertaining reasons. I have to say the acting is great. Michael B Jordan as Oscar Grant is wonderful. I do think they use the word 'brah' way too much. It did get a bit annoying. Octavia Spencer as his mother was pretty strong character. I do like how the director use cell phone calls, and text them with fonts on the screen. Still, I wouldn't see some of those text fonts due to the dark or bright lighting of the film. I do felt the film forget to mention some things about the event like why the BART police were on edge before the shooting because two guns had been recovered in separate incidents along the rail line over the previous hour. Plus, before he arrived at Fruitvale, Officer Mehserle was involved in an incident at the West Oakland station where a teenage boy with a semi-automatic pistol had fled from police and jumped off the station platform. I'm one of those who think Mehserle did it on accident due to that. Mehserle had no reason to kill Oscar as it seems somewhat in police control. Was he in the right mind? Clearly not. Still, based on my research, I doubt he meant to kill him, but he did kill him. That is a fact. I dislike people that quickly to judge it as a hate crime and use the event as an excuse to create chaos riot or to loot items. Remind me so much of the 2011's Kenneth Harding Jr. case where people were so quickly to judge it as a race crime without understanding the case. People forget that cops are people, too and they do mistakes. I'm still glad, Oscar's family did filed a wrongful death claim against BART police and Officer Mehserle didn't get off scot free. He did serve his time, for the shooting. I do say research well before watching the film, to get an opinion on both sides of the coin. I think the real life event captured on multiple digital video and cell phone cameras is more powerful than this film. In my opinion, a free online documentary film about Oscar Grant would better suited the issue than this independent money hungry film. Still, this film is a powerful movie to watch.

FRUITVALE STATION (2013) ***1/2 Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Ariana Neal. Absorbing account of the last day in the life of ex-con Oscar Grant (riveting Jordan), an Oakland, California family man attempting to go straight in spite of his past and inner turmoil to do the right thing which inevitably lead to his killing by a transit police after an altercation on a train post New Year's Eve celebrations. Newcomer Ryan Coogler - who wrote and directed - manages to convey a young man's plight when the deck is so stacked against his best intentions in sadly a tale too often proved to be true in this day and age. An indie gem to seek out to see.

For a feature film, "Fruitvale Station" is not really long, just an hour and fifteen minutes. However, with the limited story, maybe it would have been more effective as a live-action short film instead.

This film tells us the story of an ex-con Oscar Grant who is trying his best to get back on his feet after his stint in jail. However on one New Year's Eve 2008, he gets involved in an altercation with policemen in a BART train station, which had a bloody and tragic outcome.

While Michael B. Jordan does a good enough job as Oscar Grant, he does not exactly do anything extraordinary which we have not seen before. Octavia Spencer flashes her Oscar-winning acting style in the short moments she is on screen as Oscar's mother.

After we see the last fifteen minutes at the BART station, the first hour or so leading to the fateful day felt rather empty. It is a very sad violent event that never should have happened, yes. But the movie never really lifted off being a simple crime scene reenactment.