Very well-acted and very emotional.

This was a story about a troubled man with a good heart whose life was unfairly cut short. This was a very powerful story highlighting very important issues we face, and nothing about this film misrepresented that. this film made me care about him and his family, and made my cry at the end. Masterful in its storytelling and acting, beautifully shot, and as moat important in a drama, emotionally gripping. 9.5/10

Powerful and thought-provoking film, superbly acted by the leads and supporting cast. The film is rendered more compelling by the actors' restraint and the director's reasonable, unhurried pacing. Even the soundtrack, sparingly used, provides an authentic resonance to whatever is happening or not happening on screen. The film plays more like a documentary than a feature film and is all the more effective because of it. Despite the emotional import of Oscar Grant's last day, the director never loses focus of an enduring maxim, well known to the overlooked and underserved, most of our days start off and play out unremarkably, even the ones that ultimately lead to tragedy.

A great way to humanise the victims of barbaric oppressing structures. We need to see more movies which explore the very real suffering ordinary people face and how they end up on the doorstep of violence. A must watch!

This was such an awesome film with exceptional acting and storyline. Octavia Spencer was superb as usual. It's definitely worth the watch.

What a powerful movie with equally a powerful message. I can't think of a single person who shouldn't see this movie. 👏🏼

Very effective at what it quickly and succinctly shows, a bullshit and avoidable tragedy.

A powerful, unnerving film that at times is not easy to watch and packs a hell of a punch in it's 85mins. One of 2013's best movies

One of the greatest films ever.

Fruitvale Station is the heartbreaking story of Oscar Grant's unjust murder by the hands of law enforcement. It is impossible to talk about this film without discussing the landscape of America today. This film was released in 2013, the murder occurred in 2009, and yet this same exact story is flashed on our timelines on a monthly basis. Nothing has changed. It is sick and disgusting that we live in a country where police can brutalize American citizens without any repercussions. We need change! For Oscar Grant, for George Floyd, for Breonna Taylor, for every American who has been murdered by the officers sworn to protect us… As for the movie, Ryan Coogler handled this topic beautifully, showcasing the life of Oscar Grant and the beautiful aspects of his family, friends, and personality. It was paced well, allowing the audience to form a deep bond with Grant, which makes the ending all the more tragic. There is fantastic cinematography and amazing performances from the entire cast. Michael B Jordan is superb, giving an incredibly nuanced performance by having a rough and manly exterior with a soft and kind inside. His drive to good for his family is shown by not only his actions but by his facial expressions when he interacts with his daughter. It was stellar. The emotional scenes are impactful, and they linger for an uncomfortable period of time, letting the gravity of what occurred sit with you. Overall, no matter how great this film is, it should have never needed to be made and that is the true tragedy of Fruitvale Station. Score: 81% Verdict: Great

The impact of it all doesn't really hit you until you make it through the whole thing. And the acting is fantastic. Taking too much creative license with the story would dilute the whole meaning of the movie. Luckily, it looks like any of the liberties that were taken were either based on as much fact as possible or irrelevant to the movies's focus.

We don't talk about this movie as much as we should today. The first film of 2023 that made me cry. The death of Oscar Julius Grant III was something I was unaware of before watching the film. I got a general just that the film was based off a real life shooting of a black man, but that description alone could never prepare me for the tragedy that loomed over every moment. I don't know how to review this. This being based on a real-life tragedy; I find it incredibly difficult to establish how to talk about this. As a movie, or as a telling of the unjust, vile murder. So, I decided I'll get my thoughts on the film's production out the way first and then discuss the deeper aspects. Firstly, I really liked the grimy look of the film. It looked like something that was shot during the late 2000's/early 2010's. It was shot with film grain, handheld, and with a shallow depth of field. All these in combination lead to the film having this imperfect, grounded look and quality that helped focus solely on the actors and never really the background. Even the wide shots of the city have this bloom and mirage like quality to how things look, making some shots appear very dream-like and surprisingly unreal, but never in a bad way. Visually there is intention to everything. The clarity and sharpness we see in most movies lend those films this level of hyper realism and fantasy. Fruitvale looks very average on the other hand. As though the film is some high budget student film or shot by people who didn't have enough but used what they had anyway. The cinematography was nothing really special, which is fine, because Fruitvale does not seek to glorify things, but ground them. The score is something I never really noticed as it felt very understated so as to not take away from the actor's performances or the emotions of a scene. The sound design/foley was well done, as moments of quiet have this sense of reality, that what we are watching is not a movie. The locations were noteworthy to me too just for their tangibility, especially Oscar's mothers' home which I would like to go into detail about. The coziness, tightness, and warmth, not just from the lighting or the furniture, but from the emotions and love within that scene were just infectious. It felt like a home I've been in before. I could smell the food and feel the space. It felt like nostalgia for a place I've never physically been to before, but one similar to it. Not too big, not too small, but big enough that the people and our bonds make it feel greater than it really is. Now to talk about the film's story. I think the word that best describes why I love this movie, is 'Humanity'. Everything just feels so human. So real. So authentic and true. The way people talk to each other, the community people have between each other, the lives they live, the struggle's they face, the people in their lives, it all feels so real and tangible. And when you're writing and directing something based off a true story, that humanity can get lost or glorified to the point it dances in the uncanny valley and on the grave of respect. Such is a testament to the abilities of Writer, Director Ryan Coogler. I've never experienced a movie in a while with this level of heart and care across the board. The secondary cast were also stellar. The fact that even the most minor of characters felt real, just speaks to the level of care that was put into directing everyone, as well as the actor's ability to understand what the scene requires of them. Michael B. Jordan is phenomenal embodying a young man who is just not perfect. Oscar lies to his family, gets into fights with people, sells drugs, and has been to prison. He also doesn't seem to be living in the best condition and seems to struggle financially. These aspects always made mem fearful for what could happen to him in the near future. But there is this real sense that all the bad things he does are not just for the sake of surviving, but for the happiness of his family. Everything I've said aside, Oscar is shown to be such a relatable, family man. He lies so that people are happy and don't worry all the time. He sells drugs to help pay the bills but doesn't like doing it at all. He gets into altercations because he's angry inside. He wants to change, and as the film develops, we see him desire to be better than he is. Get a job, stop selling drugs. Don't do things that will get you into prison. Be honest and vulnerable with the people you love. This is the problem I had with this film. The writing, acting and direction make it seem as though I'm talking about him like he's a fictional character, but he's based off of someone real! And sure, some things may be exaggerated or just straight up untrue, but the execution is so flawless at making us consistently realize this man was real! It speaks volumes to the talent, dedication and care that went into the performances. You care about every single person who is related to Oscar because they are so average, simple and human. You feel their anxiety as they wait patiently to hear the news about Oscar's condition. You feel the happiness and joy whenever Oscar is with his daughter playing around. I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but I really believe what this movie did is special. So so so so so so special. And powerful. It honestly feels like some milestone in cinema that doesn't get talked about nearly as much as it should, meanwhile this was released in 2013. 10 years later, I have yet to recall something now that does people such justice. Maybe Hereditary. Even then, it may also be this movies grounding in reality that may have heightened that sense of tragedy. But that feels disrespectful to the film. Everything about the film, just screams this need to do things justice, and to be authentic. There is no glorifying anything. It even ends on a very somber note. That the former police officer responsible for Oscar's death was released 11 months after his 2-year sentencing. I really appreciate that because it's easy to want to use this tragic story as some platform for this or that, but the ending just solidified to me that sometimes things are just unfair. And maybe that's ok. Maybe what we need to do is just find some solace in that. I clearly can't recommend Fruitvale Station enough. It is incredibly powerful and extremely well executed.

An important movie that portrays a horrific event that is a unique and singular act of evil in its own right, but combined with the commonality of similar events expands the grasp of this story's reach. If you live in America, you don't have to look far from home to find another Fruitvale Station. Despite knowing exactly what's coming in this film as I am familiar with the story, it is no less powerful and sobering. It does a great job establishing Oscar Grant as a very human character whose life was stolen by one of America's greatest collective failures. There is clear talent behind and in front of the camera in this one and Michael B. Jordan has rightfully gone on to be a star.

Very well done, emotional. Strong performance by Michael B. Jordan

An incredibly well done character study thriller hybrid. The Acting by Michael B. Jordan is phenomenal as well the supporting cast is amazing also! The editing, pacing and cinematography is incredibly well done. that being said the only real weakness of this film is the plot is very very very weak. However Ryan Coogler got around this by pouring his heart into this project and directed the crap out of this film. Every aspect of this film is incredibly well done. 85% of this movie is character development and this sets up the final part of this film which is very short but makes it very powerful. This turns what could have been a significant problem into a marginal criticism. This is a Classic underrated gem.

#blacklivesmatter drama on hand-held videocam maybe even phone...

An argument sometimes heard from those less than sympathetic to movements like Black Lives Matter is that the victims of the violence being protested against were not innocent themselves. It's almost always a specious, lazy, ignorant argument, but that doesn't mean it isn't often recited. It's to director/writer Ryan Coogler's credit, then, that he allows no leeway for people to level that accusation at this true-life take on the last day in the life of a victim of American police brutality. We're in no doubt that the central character is a complex, flawed individual who could make many better choices; as much of that is down to Michael B Jordan's nuanced and intelligent performance as it is the direction and screenplay. For much of the short runtime, it reminded me in some ways of A SIngle MAn; although very different in many respects of plot and tone, it shares that film's concern with the way imminent death (known or unknown) can allow us to see ordinary sorts of beauty that might otherwise be overlooked or missed. In this film that could be the interaction with a stray dog, the stolen moments of intimacy, family events, or much else. All of this means the ugliness and violence of the film's denouement is all the more distressing and upsetting; it's not in the least bit manipulative, and the film's semi-documentary tone makes for a powerful, exceptionally moving last 30 minutes or so. Again, all that's gone before means the film as a whole achieves a strange sort of alchemy - it's life-affirming, inspiring, moving, and enraging all at the same time, without anything being compromised. That it's still essential and true to today viewing is the profoundly depressing reality.

So much history reveled, yet more to come and healing is seen no where.

A dull, softhearted tragedy that succeeds only in vilifying the police. Nothing stood out to me about it other than knowing the exact ending from the start... and not because I was familiar with the story, I wasn't. Not sure what the hype was about and why critics lauded it so highly. If I liked the police I'd have scored it lower. Late 2021, I just don't care about any of these stories anymore. They praise something like this but pretty much eviscerate something like ‘The 15:17 to Paris.'

Powerful in the simplicity of its narrative, by depicting the mundane parts of Oscar Grant's last day before his untimely death.