94% Fruitvale Station

All Critics (140) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (132) | Rotten (8)

It's hard not to watch Fruitvale Station with a coiled dread... Yet, Coogler's greatest achievement may be in reminding us that Grant was a work in progress with people who loved him in spite of his flaws and because of his hopes.

We feel the death on the platform so acutely not because it's a stupid act of randomness, but hardly untypical racist violence, but because we've come to love this man.

Michael B. Jordan (The Wire and Friday Night Lights) plays Oscar with the heart and compelling charm required to make us feel close to him.

It's a story of one young man's tragedy, a story that resonates with so many other tragedies. Oscar Grant wasn't some mere symbol; this film makes him flesh and, unfortunately, blood.

An eloquent memorial for a man who barely experienced life, and a haunting reminder of how quickly it can be lost.

Some of this narrative feels cliched, but Coogler and his actors make it work by leaning toward understatement.

Assured directorial debut of the 26-year-old Ryan Coogler.

It's an unflinching, 360-degree character portrait.

A good first film but not quite deserving of the hype. The best parts have nothing to do with Oscar Grant's murder but the quotidian tale of survival by a young man with the best of intentions.

does something more radical ... humanizes the protagonist

Stunning, timely look at the killing of an unarmed man

...takes tragedies that have inflamed a nation - from Fruitvale to Sanford, Fla. - and brings them back down to human scale.

There are scenes that were certainly fabricated for the movie, but the emotional truth behind them feels real.

An utterly moving and rich slice-of-life fable.

Yet, despite being aware of the outcome, the movie is, in its own profane and streetwise manner, a warmhearted and soulful story of a young man's journey toward self-discovery and determination.

An impressive launch for the film's young writer-director and a signal that the movie's leading man will be a major presence in American film.

The performance by Michael B. Jordan is authentic and convincing, and helps us stay engaged in a film that wants to be mundane until its explosive finale.?

In the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict, this compassionate film reclaims the humanity of victims transformed into political symbols and provides context for those who think the media and not Zimmerman's bullet 'injected race' into the Martin killing.

One of the year's best films.

This dramatic story is told in a fair and balanced way, supplemented with excellent acting.

A powerful acknowledgement of existence

It's funny how the bloated, overly lengthy studio blockbusters have far less impact than 90 minutes of a relatively brief, CGI-free 'little' movie such as 'Fruitvale Station.'

The slow first hour is more than compensated for by the half hour climax that leaves one in tears.

As Grant, Michael B. Jordan's stunning good looks and immaculately restrained acting affects even those who don't want to be manipulated-who want to watch this story with unfogged eyes.

Without emotion-tweaking music or too much fictional streamlining and highlighting, he captures a sense of the random and pointless horror of a young man shot in the back while laying on his stomach

...writer-director Ryan Coogler and his actors do such a good job the film is consistently compelling despite its predestined finale.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fruitvale_station/

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