How do you measure the importance of a life? Do you look at a man’s contributions to society, his success, his wealth, his prominence in the community? Are some lives worth more than others? Up-and-coming filmmaker Ryan Coogler addresses that question, showing both the troubled side of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who was accidentally shot on a subway platform in 2009 while being subdued by police, and the more hopeful side, a man committed to raising his daughter and living a cleaner life.
Whatever Oscar Grant’s troubles may have been — whether he’d been convicted of felonies for drug dealing, whether he’d been previously tased by police, whether or not he went to college — none of that should have mattered when measuring the value of his life. He was someone’s son, father, boyfriend, friend. Oscar Grant, by all accounts, was a good guy trying to make his way in a world that thought it already had him figured out before he even had a chance to show who he was. Black kid from Oakland? Drugs? You know the score.
The beauty of Fruitvale Station is that it shows what life is like on the other side of the tracks when the police break up a fight between black kids and what they might have done if kids doing exactly the same thing had been white. Fruitvale Station shows what can happen when cops have already made up their minds about you before they even know who you are. Most of White America has no idea what it’s like to grow up like that, to be presumed guilty of a string of crimes before you’ve even committed them. Why else would the cops have reacted in such an extreme manner? Handcuffed, thrown to the ground, never given a chance to explain.
Clearly not all cops are bad. Not all white cops are bad. The film doesn’t portray them that way. But there is little doubt that many of them thought they knew Oscar Grant’s type based on how he looked. A fight on New Year’s Eve when there’s drinking involved could happen anywhere, even on the whitest streets of San Francisco. But Oscar Grant had the bad luck of being another color on another street.
When Oscar Grant was shot, the officer had only meant to tase him, or so it was claimed. The cop pulled the wrong weapon in the confusion of the moment and shot Grant with a bullet in the back. One thing you never want to do with a gun is pick it up by mistake. The point-blank wound did so much damage to Grant’s body they had to remove a lung before he lost so much blood they couldn’t revive him.
The facts of the case alone are horrifying, but Coogler’s handling of the film, of Grant’s life, gives us a chance to get to know a kid who was already doomed by the world he was born into. Drugs can be an easy way out, a quick road to instant wealth. Taking that road is a mistake but there’s no reason the mistake should be fatal.
In contrast, notice how the characters in Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring turn to crime in a similar manner but their treatment is 180 degrees around the opposite end of the scale. As it happened, Grant wasn’t even committing a crime that night, nor did the officers who detained and eventually murdered him know he had any felony convictions.
Coogler’s camerawork is intimate. His sensitivity to the tender and complicated relationship Oscar Grant, played beautifully Michael B. Jones, has with his mother, played by Octavia Spencer, never tips towards unrelenting sentimentality. Most of us already know Oscar Grant’s story going in; the point of the film is to show a life, his life, illustrating his worth in the course of the day leading up to his murder.
A graduate of the USC cinema school, Coogler is in complete command of this story, even when it seems like he’s working too hard to make Grant look like a good guy. On the way out of the theater I heard three British men complaining about this, complaining about why he had to work that hard. Because it’s Oakland, not England, I was thinking. Because in America we know there are two justice systems, one for whites, one for blacks. This fact usually chafes at your average American, they so want it not to be true. But Fruitvale Station reveals the diametric opposites so starkly. All you have to do is imagine that the men on that subway train were white, wearing suits or even polo shirts. The same amount of alcohol in their blood, the same amount of drugs.
In the capable hands of the Weinstein Co., Fruitvale Station looks to be a promising Oscar contender. Ryan Coogler might join the small number of black filmmakers ever nominated for Best Director. He would join Lee Daniels and John Singleton. Those men are been two in 86 years of Oscar history. Two.
The Oscar Grant incident set in motion a chain of protests, both violent and peaceful. Part of that was the video evidence of witnesses who were on the subway and watched the events go down. They were caught on camera. There was no way around the truth. The only play the defense had was to paint Oscar Grant as a trouble maker. And that brings us back to the importance of a life and how you measure it.
Do you write someone off for having had a harder road from the start? Do you write them off for mistakes they’ve made? Or do you love them in spite of that. Oscar Grant’s daughter had no reason to regard her father’s life as worthless, not when his arms wrapped themselves around her and made her feel safe. He never got the chance to right the wrongs he’d made in life as he was only 22 when he was shot, barely an adult.
Because Hollywood doesn’t ordinarily tell stories like this, most Americans can only build their perceptions from what they see on the news. It is then up to the storytellers to dig up these moments in our past to shine a light on the overlooked corners of our world. Coogler is one of the rare storytellers willing to go there. He tells this story with graceful understatement, but with enough forcefulness to bring it all back home. With this film, Coogler and Jordan have cemented Oscar Grant’s memory. Now all of America will have to look.
Fruitvale Station is the best film of the the Cannes Film Festival so far.
A must see!
What a load this “movie” is. Ryan Coogler lived a priviledged life in Piedmont, a wealthy suburb of Oakland, went to a private, exclusive high school and college, and was nowhere near where this shooting took place. Yet because he is black, he feels he “knows” the facts of the matter.
Has anyone asked why the BART officer is not named or has any lines in the film? Because Coogler and the Weinstein Company know that there would be a lawsuit against them for telling lies about what actually happened.
The world is better off without Oscar Grant. He managed to screw up an innocent BART officer’s life, all because he was a three time loser dope dealer, who didn’t want to go back to prison.
Had Oscar Grant, the “guy who loved his daughter” so much that he went out partying, violating his parole conditions, stayedhome that night with his family, he would still be alive.
The real victim here is the BART officer, who lost his career due to yet another ghetto thug.
The world is better off without Oscar Grant.
That’s a bizarre heartless statement. Screwed up beyond any semblance of normal humanity.
Wonder what happened to that cop whose life was ruined by the evil Oscar Grant? As soon as he was released from his 11-month timeout for murder, he was back in court in a federal civil rights case over a separate incident of police brutality.
The other BART officer involved the night Oscar Grant was killed is now facing charges of unemployment fraud.
Mel.
You are sick. I would recommend counseling but I’m afraid that you are beyond that. It is obvious that you are getting all of your information from “The Imperial Wizard.”
I can tell that you were not properly educated, therefore, finding a job is a task, but I have some information for you. They are hiring at the state penitentiary for “executioners.”
No education or training necessary, just the hatred of people who are different.
I understand that the pay and the hours are negotiable.
good Luck.
“According to crime statistics, .002% of Americans will in fact kill you with a gun if you make us mad. So that means 99.998% of us will not.”
I was way off 😀
Seems to me that these things happen. That police shoot innocent people. Have they ever shot a tourist by accident? What would be the odds on that? That kind of incident would easily create a conflict between countries.
I don’t think police has ever killed anyone in my country (which is 1/60 ratio in population size, mind you) – at least the cops don’t carry guns here. Only when someone is shooting which is extremely rare, then they call for “SWAT team”. We’ve had school shootings even, and in fact, Finland has LOTS of guns for hunters.
But I guess taking the guns away from US police is out of the question when even normal citizens are not willing to lose them…
Never been robbed, never heard a gun shot (outside Army), never heard gay bashing. Gotta visit this country called USA soon to find out if it’s only movies or do these things really happen.
Yes, I understand that police MUST carry firearms in USA, but… then… shit like this happens? Can’t wait to see the film.
I bet most of these horror stories about walking alone at night in a city is false fear. Especially fear of something unknown (which can lead to racism) is what they feed Americans on television all the time. Fear is making people act silly. 99,99999999999% of people are not out there trying to kill you, not in ANY Western country (including USA).
I don’t have a fear of walking at night in a city of any size. (whether alone or in pairs or groups — makes no difference if somebody is firing a gum at you. Unless you can convince 10 friends to surround you in a human shield with you in the middle, a gun shot can kill you whether you’re alone or walking hand-in-hand with your entire hockey team).
More than 8500 people are killed in gun crimes in the US every year, Tero. Of course those aren’t all street crimes. But it happens. It happens to 12 Americans every day.
The Guardian has some charts to help you plan your trip to see where the action is.
You can see, nationwide close to 3 out every 100,000 Americans will get killed with a gun this year… In Louisiana, 10 out of every 100,000 Americans will be shot to death… In Mississippi, 7 out of 100,000… Michigan (Detroit), 5 out of 100,000.
On 99.999% of streets in America there is close to no chance of getting shot. But if Sally lives in a dangerous neighborhood she might not feel comfortable with those 3 out of 100,000 odds.
Unless the perpetrator of an armed robbery goes nuts there’s no reason for the thug to shoot a robbery victim. But there are a definitely a few tense moments during the transaction.
According to crime statistics, .002% of Americans will in fact kill you with a gun if you make us mad. So that means 99.998% of us will not.
Yes, I understand that police MUST carry firearms in USA, but… then… shit like this happens?
And shit like this too. Horribly tragic. Happened over the weekend.
Vince must you critique every aspect of your life. The project deals with an issue that African Americans face way too often.
Who are we to judge? I don’t think that the project was created to show injustice, or to place blame. Im sure that if that were the intent you would have seen more of it. The project dealt with facts. He was shot while he was cuffed behind his back, unarmed, and complying.
Yes, he was an ex convict. Yes, he had a child out of wedlock. Yes, he was unemployed ( he just lost his job a week earlier ). And (the obvious) Yes, he was black. When you throw all these ingredients into the pot it becomes easy to digest the shooting as “what he had coming to him.’
Fruitvale Station is a movie. Let’s not split atoms. When you said “it was an emotion based politicization when the evidence is pretty weak. if it weren’t it would have been up on the screen.”
Once again, the project was not created to prove a point. The directors feelings about the matter were not displayed on the screen. There was no “finger pointing” and there never will be.
When it comes to town make an evening out of it, good ole dinner and a movie. Kick your feet up on the seat in front of you and enjoy the film.
Remember it is a movie…it’s intent was to give a young man (who despite his short comings had his life taken way too soon… whether it was justified or not.) his dignity back.
Thank you for your comments, and Peace be with you.
Ira, you’re [deleted, abusive language] Oscar Grant was not handcuffed at the time he was shot. And he was not compliant. He was, in fact, actively resisting arrest, by not showing his hands to the officer. Oscar was a fool, and caused his own death.
Mel. Trade in your baseball cards. Go downtown and play your sax on the sidewalk, or go to the nearest blood bank and donate. Once you’ve “earn” $10 dollars go see the movie. You will be shocked when you find out that you are so wrong. Loose the chip off your shoulder. Lighten up. As that young man lay there bleeding to death, just remember that could be your son, brother, nephew, or cousin. None of us have the right to determine whether or not someone should die. Especially you, as you obviously have a preconceived notion about African Americans. That’s okay too because this is a free world and the chances of your niece or daughter bringing home a “dark skinned” dinner guest remain a possibility. Like I said earlier, It’s not a documentary it’s a movie. One more thing, if you really want to enjoy the movie leave your hood at home.
OSCARS 2014 NOMINATION PREDICTION FOR FRUITVALE STATION
Best Picture
Fruitvale Station, Nina Yang Bongiovi & Forest Whitaker, Producers
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station
Best Directing
Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler
Best Writing – Original Screenplay
Fruitvale Station – Written by Ryan Coogler
I remember when all of this went down, and reading your moving review has made me tear up. I know this film is going to invite lots of controversy and criticism, and I also know I can count on you, Sasha, to persist in championing it. Please don’t back down!!
I haven’t seen the movie. The review says that it portrays Oscar Grant as someone trying to turn around his life. Is there a factual basis for the movie doing this? He was released from prison only three months before his death. He was in prison the previous New Year’s Eve. Did he spend what would be his last one with his child and/or with the baby mama? No. He went partying (alcohol and drugs).
Kudos to you, Sally, for looking at the world the way it is, rather than how we wish it were. We have to play the odds. When I encounter a group of strangers, I assess gender, race, age, clothing, education (if audible info is available), etc. Ryan, you were attacked by white guys, but by your own admission, you were sitting in a parked car in a rough neighborhood. Why park there and not somewhere else?
It was New Year’s Eve, Tony. We were parked half a block away from the club where we chose to go celebrate. 2 a.m. We were headed home. But sitting idle to let the car warm up.
Why were we parked there? Because the people who live in the nicer neighborhoods of St Louis don’t much like having gay bars next door. So the gay clubs often get pushed into parts of town that are rough.
The night my partner and I got robbed at gunpoint our car was wedged in between other cars on the top level of a crowded parking structure. So there was no way to speed off to the safety of a nice part of town in order to avoid the white guy with a gun. (There is probably no street in the entire state of Missouri where you can avoid white guys with guns).
🙂
It didn’t occur to us to park in a nice well-lit part of town and walk 2 miles to our destination in freezing cold Dec 31 weather.
We played the odds, as you suggest. We assessed the gender, clothing, and education of the strangers in the nice white neighborhoods, and we figured the odds of us getting bullied, gay-bashed and attacked seemed worse in a better neighborhood surrounded by drunken straight Missouri guys on New Year’s Eve.
Anyway, lucky I didn’t get killed by that white teenager. Close call.
Somebody might ask at my funeral, “On the last night of his life, why was Ryan out partying with alcohol and marijuana cigarettes? What proof do we have that he was a good person? He’s obviously no saint. Let’s not assume he ever would’ve amounted to much.”
What have we learned this morning. Stay home, kids? Don’t go out partying? You’ll never turn your life around if you spend the holidays partying with friends?
It’s important to keep in mind this film wasn’t a documentary, but had a very strong point of view. Oscar Grant’s story was a tragic one. But the racial profiling aspect of the movie in the context of its very specific reality may have been less than genuine. Sometimes chaos renders results that can’t be placed in a specific box. It doesn’t excuse the outcome, but it’s not worth politicizing either. Sorry. Wish you understood. Wish we had more films that didnt make up our minds for us and challenged us more. Guess were just a dumbed down culture.
Vince, why don’t you take time to read the facts leading up to this murder before you make up your mind based on a 7-paragraph review of a movie you haven’t seen.
(Have you seen it? You’ve seen it and you just have more will-power to resist its “dumbed-down” point of view?)
Or how how about you dig up one of the news stories about one of those times when a black cop in a white neighborhood threw a white kid face down on the ground and shot him in the back. Write a screenplay about it.
That should balance out the “racial profiling” propaganda you think we’re being force fed.
I’m curious to know how you managed to make up your mind so decisively while the rest of us dummies were being brainwashed.
Ryan,
Wow, your response is full of enough knee-jerk condescension, ire, and presumptions to choke a horse. I took the time to read up on “the facts” regarding the case before seeing the film. Your wikipedia link proves nothing other than your ability to embed html. But, I expect nothing less from you. So that you get combative without actually having seen the film doesn’t come at all as a surprise, being one of your more consistent traits. It’s dangerous to have opinions about things we haven’t seen. But, rationality isn’t always your strong suit.
I never said racial profiling never happens. I acknowledged the tragedy of the story. But, I don’t blindly endorse its emotion-based politicization when the evidence is pretty weak. If it weren’t, then it would have been there up on the screen. Otherwise, it’s finger-pointing that looks out of a place in an otherwise incredibly moving film. But, you tend to argue emotionally anyway, so this film is probably up your liberal alley. Sounds like you’ve already made up your mind about how you’re going to feel about it. Guess you don’t even have to bother seeing it.
Not combative. I stand up to insults, that’s all. I don’t appreciate your blunt implication that this movie is stuffing a slanted point of view down the throats of gullible moviegoers. There is a victim in this film and we don’t need to be bleeding-heart sheep in order to see how his death is typical of the brutality that kids of one race suffer more than kids of another race.
So no, Vince, you don’t get to say that anyone who’s moved by a film that depicts this senselessness once again is part of a dumbed-down America. Not without being challenged.
Do you think you need to remind us that this movie “is not a documentary” — and then have the gall to say I’m the one who’s condescending?
Nobody is asking you to, Vince. Furthermore, none of us is blindly endorsing it either.
You’re the one who’s uptight about it. Fruitvale Station is by all reports a fantastic piece of filmmaking. That’s all I care about. I can’t understand why you feel the need to preach to us or to suggest that its a sad symptom of dumbed-down America that we can’t grasp the complexity.
Some of the best movie writers in the world appear to be hugely impressed by the film, but you see right through it. And you’re here to explain the complexity to us.
Listen to yourself:
Say again? Right, Vince, please do feel free to pass judgement on what you think we’re able to understand.
The cop was arrested for murder and convicted, Vince. Go tell the Grand Jury to stop pointing fingers. An expert witness testified that it looked like an execution.
Ignorance is bliss. Thanks for deleting my last comment. Somebody needs a thicker skin.
I didn’t delete your precious comment. Your comment got snagged by the automatic spam filter because your comment contained more than one hyperlink and that’s a red-flag for spam.
I was asleep when that happened, Vince, because you make me feel sleepy.
But it’s great to wake up and be greeted first thing in the morning by more of your insults.
Thanks for dogging me for my “ignorance.”
Thanks for letting me know that you think I’m “nauseating.”
What else do I find out in your comment the spam filter caught overnight:
“You obviously don’t know how to read, Ryan”
“Rationality isn’t your strong suit, Ryan”
“You sound certifiable to me, Ryan”
“Certifiable”? ok. Now I sound crazy to you? Is that what you mean? Ryan’s gone nuts?
Vince says, “you tend to argue emotionally anyway, Ryan”
yep. That’s me alright. Emotional Ryan. Ignorant, nauseating, illiterate, knee-jerk, condescending Ryan — thin-skinned Ryan.
Nice. I like how you keep your cool when you’re angry, Vince.
You should apply for a job as a BART cop. You’d fit right in.
Octavia should get a supporting actress nomination for her work here!
@Mazur — how can you be so sure so early?
The only play the defense had was to paint Oscar Grant as a trouble maker. And that brings us back to the importance of a life and how you measure it.
Do you write someone off for having had a harder road from the start? Do you write them off for mistakes they’ve made? Or do you love them in spite of that.
Love this part.
It’s called “racial profiling” and we all do it. Admit it. We look at young black men or Latinos and automatically label them “bad” or trouble makers. We walk a distance away from them (I know I do), and if they’re wearing tattoos and saggy pants that causes me to move far far away.
The police are worse than the public, really. They don’t “ask” first, they shout at kids and just act annoyed….you can almost read their minds, “I don’t want to be in this job but since I’m here I’m giving you hell.”
I remember when the video of the shooting was released — and the cops tried to squelch it — and I got sick to my stomach. It was murder plain and simple. There was no gun. The cops have these imaginary “gun” images everytime they pass a young black kid in the neighborhood.
I could write an essay on this point, I’ll stop here.
It’s called “racial profiling” and we all do it. Admit it. We look at young black men or Latinos and automatically label them “bad” or trouble makers. We walk a distance away from them (I know I do)
I know I don’t. I don’t avoid people of color who I encounter by trying to walk a safe distance away. I’m more likely to put distance between myself and somebody I perceive a shitkicker redneck.
No offense, Sally, but please don’t project your own feelings onto all of us.
Though I’ll confess I’m uncomfortable in close quarters with Christian Fundamentalists. Seriously.
Well, I guess I travel a different path. I live in Chicago. Where do you guys live? Don’t write Beverly Hills, please!
Well, I guess I travel a different path. I live in Chicago.
I’ve lived in Chicago, Sally. I went to U of C. The campus is like any urban campus but Hyde Park is still Hyde Park and it was a long way from my dorm at the Shoreland Hotel through a lot of bleak blocks that were absolutely not the Quadrangles. After that, admittedly, I lived in at McClurg Court for a while. But I’ve explored all over Chicago at all hours — because clubs.
I lived and worked in Bangkok for a few years and roamed rough tawdry areas all alone from Khao San Road to Supan Kwai. At times I was the only white guy in sight.
The only incident when I’ve ever been physically threatened in a big city was once when a wild-eyed guy in the subway of NYC kicked a 6-pack of 7-Ups out of my hand because I wouldn’t make eye contact and acknowledge him. He was a white guy. The worst part of that was we didn’t have a mixer to make Seagrams 7 & 7s later.
My partner and I were once robbed at gunpoint sitting in a parked car in a rough area of St Louis on New Year’s Eve. The two kids who took our wallets were white teenagers.
Sally, don’t get me wrong. I’m not questioning the legitimacy of your fears.
Just saying that you should not assume “we all do it… We look at young black men or Latinos and automatically label them bad or trouble makers.”
That’s just not so. I never think that.
Whenever I’m surrounded by Black men and Latino men it’s because we party together. My experience is not your experience, that’s all I’m saying, ok? You’re really wary of dark guys with tattoos?
I went to U of C.
Ah. My sister’s goes to Emory. What a shitty conference ya’ll in! #jk
Other than Morgan Freeman, are there any dark guys anywhere who don’t have tattoos?
yes! lol many!
https://twitter.com/TeamVic/status/35831088056254464
^ <3
No I won’t admit it, Sally, cos I don’t do it. But I’ll be glad to profile you and walk as far away from you as I can 🙂
no no, Paddy, that’s no way to be.
As gentlemen, we should be Sally’s guardians and walk on either side of her, with Sally safely between us as our ward*
*(decoy)
In all seriousness, Sally, I do understand that you’re in a different situation as a woman.
But I also believe that overly apprehensive individuals can give off fearful signals that are counterproductive because it’s like a beacon that flags a Victim vibe to bad people. It’s hard to overcome, but can be to your advantage if you try.
I do like a bearded man.
It’s not being a woman, it’s living in an urban environment with police cars whizzing up and down the street everyday. And young black boyz hanging on the street corners and walking in “groups.” I guess my environment is different.
Now, I’m not writing that every single man of color I profile….but when you live in an urban environment and a tough one like Chicago — and like the subject of the movie lived — they are profiled by almost everybody, regardless of color….white people do it, black people do it.
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/5978-there-is-nothing-more-painful-to-me-at-this-stage
“There is nothing more painful to me at this stage in my life than to walk down the street and hear footsteps… then turn around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”
Ryan, you are a sick moron. What you’re saying then, is that a rape victim must have had it coming, because she gave off “bad vibes.” Idiot.
What a truly weird way to twist my words. Don’t tell me what I’m saying by totally rewording what I really said into your own distorted bug-eyed version. You’re sadly mistaken if you don’t think predators can spot the most vulnerable victims.
you’re saying a rape victim must have had it coming, because she gave off “bad vibes.” Idiot.
how you make the leap from “appears to be vulnerable” to “deserved get raped” is the only sick thing I’m seeing.
Sally I can’t believe you are this stupid. No one knew Oscar Grant had a gun or not, until after he was shot. Only then did anyone know, because he could finally be searched. Mr. Grant was actively resisting arrest, and caused his own death. Oscar Grant refused to show his hands to the officers, so we have to presume that he had a weapon. Any good police officer knows this. You are very ignorant of what the police do.
I am really excited for this film to come out. I hope it being released in July doesn’t hurt its chances at being nominated for Oscars.
Michael B. Jordan(you wrote Jones by accident in the review) has been around since 2002 when he was the heart of the first season of The Wire(another great example of a show that shows how different the world can be for people of different races and economic backgrounds). I hope this is the start of him becoming a household name. Thanks for the great review.