leethomas-11621 Magnificent re-telling of struggle for recognition of black voting rights. Incredibly it wasn't awarded an Oscar. Only real qualm is the soundtrack which is all over the place. Oyelowo's central performance holds everything together. Film doen't try to be over-ambitious with result that it isn't over-blown.

Kingslaay Selma does not disappoint and safely delivers its message. David Oyelowo is the spitting image of the great Martin Luther King Jr however he may not have portrayed him to the full extent. When actors take on monumental figures in history they have very big shoes to fill. Having said that he manages to pull of a nice tribute and likeness to Dr King. The supporting cast did a great job in carrying this film. The film excelled in showing the brutality towards many innocent African Americans and the inhumane behavior of law enforcement. However it felt a bit slow at times and did drag on. Some will argue how accurate the portrayal of LBJ was. Also accusations against MLK being unfaithful were never substantiated and the rumors do not match with the reality of those times. Perhaps this could have been excluded. This was a good film but it could have been a great film. The best part of the film was probably the montage of scenes at the end and actual footage shown from Selma. 7.8/10

sddavis63 David Oyelowo was brilliant as civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. That's a difficult role to play, because King is such an iconic figure to many, and especially because he is essentially a martyr for the cause, having been assassinated a couple of years after the events depicted in this film. But if Oyelowo was even remotely overwhelmed by playing King, he didn't show it. Instead, he captured King. His voice, his mannerisms, his passion. It was truly impressive - the best part of a movie that was generally very good, but at times a bit slow moving.But more than just featuring a great performance (Oyelowo should have been nominated for an Oscar, I might add) it's an important movie. In fact it's a sobering movie, because it's largely so accurate. It's sobering for me to realize that these events happened in my lifetime. This wasn't the distant past - this was the south of just 50 years ago where racism was a way of life and keeping blacks poor and disenfranchised - through the use of state sanctioned violence if necessary - was accepted political policy. The movie revolves around the struggle for black voting rights in Alabama. In theory, blacks had the right to vote, but in practice various methods were found to prevent them from registering. King and his associates take on the cause and try to organize a march from Selma to the state capital of Montgomery demanding voting rights for blacks - the first attempt at the march descending into sickening violence against the marchers by the authorities.In the course of showing the march being organized, there are a lot of points made. The political machinations are revealed and believable. Alabama Governor George Wallace was played by Tim Roth, and President Lyndon Johnson by Tom Wilkinson. Personally, I found Wilkinson difficult to accept as LBJ. To me he just didn't seem right in the part - but the movie makes the point that Johnson had to be pushed to propose the Voting Rights Act of 1965, when he would have preferred to do something less dramatic. The movie also isn't shy about hiding some of the divisions within the leadership of the civil rights movement itself. The movie also notes the prominent place of faith in the civil rights movement.It has a powerful beginning and ending - the beginning portraying the murder of four young black girls in the bombing of a church, and the movie closes with a gripping piece of music. I often don't bother with the closing credits of a movie, but I left them on to hear the song because I found it so moving.There were a few parts of this movie that failed to really capture me, and it did seem a little bit inconsistently paced. But it's an important movie portraying important events - and still quite relevant, given many of the concerns today about voter suppression laws which seem aimed largely at blacks, and recent incidents of police violence toward the African American community. (7/10)

alindsay-al I have heard allot of good things about Selma and I have finally seen it and it is a fantastic film. The film documents an important part of Dr martin Luther king jnrs life as he tries to get the vote for all black people. David oyelowo plays king and he was absolutely amazing in this film. He was so good that I truly believed that king was on the screen in front of my eyes and that is huge credit to this incredibly talented actor. Tom Wilkinson plays the president and he also did a great job in this film. I actually felt like his character had development and was an interesting character. Tim Roth plays a villain in this film and he did a good job in coming across as a bad guy. Everybody around the civil rights movement was great as well and connected with MLK. The story had a great development with mlk and how he was just a normal guy and that he had problems. Also seeing some bad things in this film really makes you want to root for the movement. However, there are some side plots that aren't developed that much and thus leave you asking a few questions. The script was really good with the drama involved making sense for the time. It is one of those films where the lack of humour works. The style was really good, the brutality shown feels real and it really makes you root for mlk. Overall this is a fantastic film that if your interested in the subject matter is worth a watch.