Selma (2015)
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AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Fueled by a gripping performance from David Oyelowo, Selma draws inspiration and dramatic power from the life and death of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- but doesn't ignore how far we remain from the ideals his work embodied.
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Cast
as Martin Luther King Jr.
as Coretta Scott King
as Lyndon Baines Johnson
as Fred Gray
as John Doar
as Lee C. White
as James Bevel
as Reverend Hosea Williams
as Amelia Boynton
as George Wallace
as Annie Lee Cooper
as Andrew Young
as James Orange
as Diane Nash
as Ralph Abernathy
as Frank Minis Johnson
as J. Edgar Hoover
as Richie Jean Jackson
as Jimmie Lee Jackson
as John Lewis
as President's Secretary
as Malcolm X
as James Reeb
as Church/Funeral Attendant
as CT Vivian
as Hudson-Bayard Rustin
as James Forman
as Deputized Klansman
as Reverend Frederick Reese
as Viola Liuzzo
as Cager Lee
as Dr. Sullivan Jackson
as Viola Lee
as Female Marcher
as Hotel Patron/Selma Citizen
as Roy Reed
as Sheriff Jim Clark
as Klansman #1
as Registrar
as LBJ's Aide
as Mahalia Jackson
as Anthony Liuzzo
as Marie Reeb (as Elizabeth Wells Berkes)
as Actor
as Alabama State Attorney
as Civil Rights Activist
as Klansman
as Girl #5
as Girl #5
as Young Marcher
as Daughter
as Girl #1
as AA eFx Marcher
as National Guardsman
as Funeral Attendee
as Archbishop Iakovos
as Girl
as National Guardsman
as Black Marcher
as Senator
as Girl #2
as Alabama State Trooper/Selma Alabama Police
as Voice on Recorder
as Angry Marcher
as Church/Funeral Attendant
as Congressman
as State Attorney
as Senator
as Reporter
as LBJ's Marine Guard/White House Aide
as Reeb's Companion
as Elderly Marcher
as Young Marcher
as Senator John J. Williams
as Deputy Sheriff
as Marcher
as Dallas County Deputy
as Congressional Aide
as Female Marcher
as Montgomery Police Officer
as Sheriff Posseman
as Press/Reporter
as National Guardsman
as Male Marcher
as Angry White Woman
as Montgomery Police Officer
as Man on Street
as Female Marcher
as White Supporter
as Racist Spectator
as Funeral Attendee
as Racist Spectator/White Marcher/Press Background
as Deputized Klansman
as Marcher
as Church Attendant
as National Guardsman
as Court Room Attendant
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Critic Reviews for Selma
All Critics (234) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (231) | Rotten (3) | DVD (2)
More often than not ... "Selma" focuses on the one thing we don't expect in a movie about Martin Luther King Jr. - his doubts - and Oyelowo comes through with a deeply felt and quite brilliant performance.
This is a film about work: the work at hand, the work it takes to do the work, and, for an audience in 2015, the question of whether the work worked.
Vivid, nuanced and, yes, timely.
Like Dr. King did, the film captures your mind and your heart as it entertains, the way great movies often do.
An uneven yet generally skillful effort that has probably drawn more praise and criticism than it warrants.
This is what Selma dares to do so well: show us the small, private moments in King's life, the intimacies, the humanity.
Audience Reviews for Selma
The story of Martin Luther King's efforts to give black Americans the right to vote in the 1960s is mostly engaging and interestingly portrayed. Some conversations could have used some trimming, there are a few slow parts. But the acting is top notch, especially Oyelowo is fantastic during King's speeches. It is the ending with original footage from the walk that is particularly touching and well done. Especially when you realize what a step backwards we seem to be taking currently.
Super Reviewer
There is a problem with the revolution: too often the ends are forgotten in times of plenty. Because of that we are often inflicted with poor quality calls to enlightenment whose substance is so poor as to subvert their intended purpose(remember "The Butler"?). The opposite is true here. Masterful historical storytelling whose purpose is never forgotten. Must see.
Super Reviewer
Such a travesty that David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay were not nominated for Best Actor and Director Oscars. Oyelowo could and should have easily swept awards season (since McConaissance wasn't in the picture :-P) with his resonant basso and gut-rumbling delivery of MLK's marcato articulation. His dynamic gestures as well as his wide, knowing eyes carry the wins and losses of the Selma protest march and almost foreshadows the tragedy to come. Ava DuVernay's perceptive direction interweaves several concurrent threads: from the earth-shattering bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, to Annie Lee Cooper's stalwart struggles to vote, to MLK and Coretta Scott's marital strife.
Super Reviewer
Selma Quotes
| Martin Luther King, Jr.: | When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because you shall reap what you saw. When will we be free? Soon. |
| Martin Luther King, Jr.: | When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because you shall reap what you saw. When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because no lie can live forever. |
| Martin Luther King Jr.: | When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because you shall reap what you sow. When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because no lie can live forever. |
| Martin Luther King, Jr.: | To Cager Lee after Jimmie Lee Jackson's death: There are no words to soothe you. But I know one thing for certain: God was the first to cry. |
| Martin Luther King, Jr.: | What happens when a man stands up...says enough is enough? |
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