Selma Movie Review

Film critic Nick Duncalf reviews civil rights drama Selma, starring David Oyelowo as Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr King campaigns for equal voting rights in Alabama, planning a march from Selma to the state capital, Montgomery.

Selma Cast:

David Oyelowo ... Martin Luther King Jr.
Carmen Ejogo ... Coretta Scott King
Oprah Winfrey ... Annie Lee Cooper
Tom Wilkinson ... President Lyndon B. Johnson
Giovanni Ribisi ... Lee White
André Holland ... Andrew Young
Ruben Santiago-Hudson ... Bayard Rustin
Colman Domingo ... Ralph Abernathy
Tessa Thompson ... Diane Nash
Common ... James Bevel
Lorraine Toussaint ... Amelia Boynton
Dylan Baker ... J. Edgar Hoover
Ledisi Anibade Young ... Mahalia Jackson (as Ledisi Young)
Tim Roth ... Gov. George Wallace
Nigel Thatch ... Malcolm X (as Nigél Thatch)

Selma Full Review Transcript:

The name may not mean anything to UK audiences, but Selma is the town in Alabama where Martin Luther King concentrated his efforts to reform black voting rights in 1965. The plan was to have a series of marches from the town of Selma to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, and ends up being the scene of two kinds of battles: brutal
bloody battles on the street between Martin Luther King supporters and the racist police of Alabama, and political battles behind the scenes between Martin Luther King and President Johnson played brilliantly by Tom Wilkinson. What surprised me most was how absolutely emotionally stirring and moving this film was - it made you want to stand up out of your seat. It's brilliantly, simply, effectively directed by Ava Du Vernay, and it has this breathtakingly brilliant performance of depth and humanity from David Oyelowo. It stirs, it moves and inspires, which is no less than Martin Luther King deserves.