(Even here, he does not want to disappoint, and saves enough marijuana to give the person who was to buy the drugs something for the trouble of coming to meet him). After thinking back to a visit with his mother while he was in jail, however, he decides not to go through with it, in an effort to turn things around for the New Year. Desperate for cash, he arranges a drug deal. Oscar alternately starts and puts out small fires-promising to help his sister with rent even though he himself has secretly lost his job, helping a stranger get a handle on a fish fry (and enlisting his grandmother in the endeavor), trying to get his job back, failing and getting angry. Come morning, the non-stop activity of everyday life takes hold getting Tatiana to school, Sophina to work, and trying to take care of the business of staying afloat. Oscar texts his mother (Octavia Spencer) a “happy birthday” before the family settles uneasily into bed. This is interrupted by their daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal). It does not start well, but with a disagreement with his girlfriend and mother of his child, Sophina (Melonie Diaz) over an infidelity. We are then brought to the beginning of December 31, 2008-the start of Oscar’s last day. The mistakes he makes are not given short shrift in the film, and one can see the pressures he faces as he moves through his final day.Īs the film opens, we see the crime itself the scene on the platform as recorded by witnesses on their cell phones. He also loves his daughter, tries to make a fresh start even when things are bleakest, and treats his family well, even when doing so means digging himself deeper into a financial hole. He’s a man who on the one hand has served prison time, lost his job over punctuality issues, and, in an outburst born of frustration, threatened his ex-boss for not rehiring him. Jordan as Oscar is understated and natural. Coogler has shed light not only on Oscar’s life, but also on the lives of millions of others. What he has written and produced is a moving and powerful portrayal of the contradictions of Oscar Grant and the challenges he faced. Ryan Coogler, only 27 years old, is to be congratulated on avoiding these pitfalls. It could have descended quickly into polemic or romanticism. Taking on the story of Oscar Grant was a bold move by the filmmaker. The drive for “law and order” does not apply to the ruling elite and those whose job is to defend its rule. Meanwhile, for the vast majority of the population, even minor and non-violent offenses often result in draconian sentences. The case pointed up the inequality of a legal system in which the police, in the face of overwhelming evidence, receive a very light sentence for murder. The judge gave him a two-year sentence, and with time served Mehserle was released after 11 months. Mehserle was acquitted of second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter charges, and convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The judge instructed the jury that it could not consider a charge of first-degree murder. Black jurors were excluded from the jury and paid expert witnesses were called by the prosecution. Mehserle’s 2010 travesty of a trial was moved to Los Angeles. Given the difference in weight, carrying location and safety locks that have to be disengaged on the weapons, this is highly unlikely. Mehserle claimed the shooting was an accident and that he had intended to taser the prone young man instead. The shooting of the unarmed 22-year-old father as he lay face down on the platform at the transit station that gives the film its name was recorded by multiple witnesses and uploaded to YouTube, sparking demonstrations. Many viewers walk into a showing of Ryan Coogler’s first feature-length film, Fruitvale Station, already knowing the story of Oscar Grant III’s murder by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) officer Johannes Mehserle in the early morning hours of January 1, 2009.
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