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Fruitvale Station: Is Redemption Possible in America?

Michael B Jordan and Ariana Neal in Fruitvale Station Image:TWC

Ryan Coogler’s Fruitvale Station depicts the tragically true story of Oscar Grant’s final hours. Michael B Jordan portrays the young man whose life was cut short due to police brutality and prejudice. However, Coogler’s film is not about a victim. It’s about a father, a son, a man, and, more importantly, a human being just trying to do the right thing. Fruitvale Station isn’t preachy. Aside from its cast, it doesn’t have any Hollywood polish. It’s a raw and authentic documentation of a man on a path to improvement. A path that was unceremoniously cut short.

The film starts with this tragedy. Before you see any actors or hear any dialogue, you see the real Oscar Grant. You see the footage that outraged people back in 2009, the same type of footage that has become too common in America: a cold-blooded murder in plain sight, a preventable murder, one that was fueled by hubris and power. Fruitvale Station doesn’t spend too much time lingering on his fate, but opening with this real-life footage sets the viewers up for a Shakespearean-level tragedy. It’s just sad that it takes place in our real world.

Michael B Jordan as Oscar Grant. He is confronted by his mother as she visits him in prison.
Michael B Jordan in Fruitvale Station

Do we truly aim to rehabilitate our criminals or is prison an excuse to lock them away and not think about it again? In Fruitvale Station, we see Oscar at a low point in his life. He is recently released from prison, a place that did nothing for him but push him to violence out of sheer survival. The place that is meant to rehabilitate was encouraging the same behavior they’re meant to correct. Once Oscar is out, we see every door he attempts to enter get shut in his face. He’s lost his old job at the grocery store; the mother of his child is questioning his role in her life. With all of this pressure piling on his shoulders, he feels the urge to fall back into his old way of life. He ultimately decides against it, dumping out the last bit of marijuana he had. We see a legitimate attempt to better himself. Instead of being met with grace, he’s ignored at best, and at worst he’s demeaned for it. The truth is, society doesn’t want improvement. Especially not from minorities.

Some detractors of Fruitvale Station have stated that it paints Oscar Grant in too positive a light. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. He is seen yelling at his mom, lying to his partner and threatening his manager. This film does not idolize Oscar Grant, but it never needed to. It just needed to humanize him. With the constant cycle of news, many have forgotten that victims are more than just the clip of their last moments. They’re full-blooded human beings with goals and fears. Fruitvale Station presents Oscar’s flaws on the same playing field as his good traits. He’s just a man trying to find a direction. We should all be able to relate to this. These bad faith arguments showcase a problem that has festered in America—the exact problem that this film is addressing.

Death surrounds Fruitvale Station at every corner. It starts and ends with a death. There are many illusions and references to death throughout the entire film. The most poetic one comes from one of the film’s most powerful scenes. Oscar comes across a Pitbull that had been hit by a car. He tries his hardest to save it. Oscar grabs it from the road and cries out for help but it’s all in vain. Oscar holds the dog as he bleeds to death. Nobody around them, just two wounded souls who were misunderstood by the world around them. Oscar relates to the dog in some ways: both soft hearts with a hard shell they created through necessity. This scene early in the film is pivotal to its themes. Coogler didn’t add this scene for a cheap sympathy play. He masterfully crafted a moment that both helps the audience sympathize with Oscar and contains a metaphor for the black man in America.

Although we know how this story ends before it starts, Fruitvale Station finds a way to keep the audience on their toes. There’s a sense of hope in Oscar’s journey that feels infectious. As we see him start to figure everything out, it’s easy to forget the tragedy that is coming. He spends time with his kid, and it is shown how caring of a father he can be. We see him have fun towards the end of the movie. It looks as if he’s letting go of some of his anger. Oscar is finally embracing what it means to transform your life, then he gets on the train. The last 15 minutes of the film are even more heart-wrenching due to the optimism we get right before it. The police, and by extension America, snuffed this life out before it got a chance to enjoyed.

Oscar Grant (Michael B Jordan) holds his daughter on his back. He smiles as he looks up at her.
Michael B Jordan and Ariana Neal in Fruitvale Station.

Making a film about a real person or event is an extremely tricky job, especially with an event as recent and prevalent as the murder of Oscar Grant. Fruitvale Station came at an important time culturally. The Trayvon Martin killing had shaken up the nation a year prior and other haunting cases were being reported weekly. This added cultural and social pressure made Coogler’s task even tougher. American audiences needed a story infused with humanity in an era where it was becoming increasingly rare. Coogler took this opportunity to highlight a day in the life of a black man in a broken system, a system that seems to only work when people like Oscar are suffering. Fruitvale Station was the story that needed to be told when it was. Ryan Coogler was the perfect director for the job.

Ryan Coogler has made a name for himself as a blockbuster filmmaker. He’s made huge franchise successes like Creed and Black Panther. Even with all of this mainstream success, Coogler has never lost what makes him a truly special filmmaker. All of his character work and clever writing is what makes his blockbusters stand out among the IP noise that gets released into theaters. He showcases all of these skills perfectly in Fruitvale Station. He takes a story that feels uncinematic on paper and fills it with gorgeous cinematography and vibrant colors. Though it’s his first film, everything is handled with the tact and patience of a seasoned director. There’s not a single moment that feels unearned or rushed. This is very rare in a debut feature.

This is also the first (of many) collaborations between Coogler and this film’s star, Michael B Jordan. This pairing is a match made in heaven. Jordan’s impressive emotional range gels well with Coogler’s raw, almost documentary style of filmmaking. Michael B Jordan can communicate with his eyes what many actors can’t communicate with dialogue. Coogler’s camera loves these eyes. There are so many scenes in this movie that sell an emotion through a simple look or gesture. This requires some serious trust between director and actor. Coogler and Jordan bring the absolute best out of each other. Fruitvale Station is the proof. Both of these generational talents had to rise to meet each other on a level of greatness that is inspiring.

Oscar Grant (Michael B Jordan) is being unlawfully detained by the police. He attempts to call his girlfriend on the phone.
Michael B Jordan in Fruitvale Station.

From an emotional standpoint, Fruitvale Station is one of the hardest films to watch. Every American should see it. It’s a masterpiece in many ways. Every shot is beautiful. The dialogue is tight and natural. Every performance is perfectly executed. But it’s just not a film to rewatch: it’s a visceral experience that needs to be respected as such. Sometimes film can extend beyond entertainment and become a cultural text. Fruitvale Station is one of those films. Almost 10 years later as the country finds itself in an even worse situation, films like Fruitvale Station are as important as ever. We need art about humanity. Society needs a reminder of what real change looks like. It isn’t pretty at first. It’s a process. The world loses something profound when this process is cut short. If we continue to let hate snuff us out before we’re whole, where will the hope come from?

Written by Matthew Percefull

Matthew Percefull is a writer who loves cinema in all forms. Constantly trying to fill out his knowledge of film, Matthew loves looking at the culture surrounding the movies we all love.

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