"Selma"

Stunning in all regards. 

The story, in all of its complexity and sorrow, is told and pulled me in. 

I was there, in the moments of planning, anxiety, doubt - the drama on the bridge, the horror of the beatings - I was there watching the likes of George Wallace and the local sheriff gladly wallow in their own hatred ... when LBJ, always the consummate politician, struggles to weigh the options and hold the now-dead Democratic coalition together ... I felt the despair of decades of voting rights denied ... I felt the pain as  Martin and Coretta struggle to figure it all out ... and shocked once again to realize that he was only 39 when white rage finally caught up to him and killed him on a Memphis motel balcony. 

The story ends triumphantly in Montgomery, with only a tag line at the end of his death. Musically, powerful, with a searing rap song woven in at the end mentioning Ferguson. 

The cast, superb ... 

A must-see - for an important chapter in the American Story.

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A FB friend of mine offers the following:

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  Constance McIntosh One lyric line in Common's rap portion of "Glory" says "our music is the cuts that we bleed through". For me, that fresh truth sums up why the director did not go with all the old songs from the marches of the 60s.
  
  For those who were disappointed in the soundtrack, a very subtle aspect to notice is that the 'theme song' (from the white perspective) of the civil rights movement was 'We Shall Overcome' and many people may not be aware that it was a Pete Seeger song. The Weavers were THE Justice singers and nobody could have more love for them than this granddaughter of a union organizer. And, yes, they were white allies as I am a white ally...but we are supporting characters in the movement, not the stars. White folks have a problem not being put in front...and this is something that needs to be addressed by all white allies and corrected. 
  
  The music in Selma was all black, from black singer/song writers and performers ..,. Except "Yesterday Was Hard on All of Us", by Brit singer/songwriter, Fink. And that placement was such an olive branch of reconciliation in the film. This is a great film and it will be a classic. It just isn't receiving much recognition now.  
  
  AND I am so grieved that 'American Sniper' has grossed (really) $105 million while this giant film, Selma, has taken in @ $20 mill, barely breaking even so far. What a sad social commentary.