Fruitvale Station Review: Humanity Emerges in the Details

News junkies will remember the tragic story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Bay Area black man fatally shot by a white police officer on the platform of a BART station. The incident, which occurred in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day in 2009 and captured on camera phones. The subsequent violent outcry ignited a firestorm that continues to reverberate today. For those taking their first view of Grant’s life as depicted in Ryan Coogler’s “Fruitvale Station,” prepare for a disquieting reminder that race and justice may always remain separated by controversy.

Eschewing the liberal guilt of some biopics, Coogan offers a simple sketch of a modern American life. Grant (Michael B. Jordan) was a father, son and boyfriend to a trifecta of women determined to see him fly right. It is New Year’s Eve and Grant is determined to make good on promises. He’s looking for work with less than hopeful results. He’s doing his best to be a better partner to his girlfriend, Sophina (Melonie Diaz), to be a present father for his daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal). And just as important, he wants to restore his mother’s (Octavia Spencer) faith in him anew after squandering her own loyalty by doing time in prison. Yet, the crushing reality is his destiny of being a victim of circumstances out of his control.

Coogan could have turned Grant’s death at Fruitvale Station into a documentary of considerable impact. However, by taking the essence of these events, humanity emerges in the details, from the mundane to the shocking. Even if certain events are presented with dramatic license, Coogan’s lens never diminishes its subjects, played with authentic brio by the ensemble.

Jordan’s portrayal of Grant is not designed to elicit “woe is me” sentiment from an audience. Rather, it is a raw but charismatic portrayal of someone struggling to turn his life around. It is not a life mythologized, nor does he stand as a polemic. Jordan presents Grant, warts and all, making his demise all the more enraging. No one should be punished with death for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Diaz also offers a beautifully calibrated performance, bringing further dimension to Jordan’s turn as Grant. However, it is Oscar winner Spencer who will tear your heart apart in the film’s penultimate scene.

The embodiment of parental strength and love, Spencer inhabits her moments as Grant’s mother with such steely grace, you wonder if anything can break her. The answer is a profound one, but fueled with devastating intensity.

Filmmakers should not forget their ability to illuminate the path we’re on as a country while articulating the popular rage over our failing social systems. “Fruitvale Station” may be a chronicle of a life previously untold for some. It also celebrates as it questions the conflicting emotions that continue to spill off our screens, in reel and real life. For that alone, Coogan’s debut is a powerful achievement worth experiencing.