Movie Review
Set in 1965, Selma allows us a closer look at the campaign led by Dr.Martin Luther King Jr to obtain equal voting rights for African American citizens. The majority of the political battle is based in the deep south. Here, King organizes marches from the small town of Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to dissuade President Lyndon B. Johnson from hesitating on voting rights legislation.
Watching the recreation of events fifty years later, the audience discovers more about the political obstacles and tricky compromises King needed to maneuver in order to fulfill his agenda. These obstacles include negotiations with his own political, religious, and racial affiliations in order to achieve a higher purpose.
Furthermore, the film probes even deeper into the man behind the civil rights facade and reveals the complications incurred on King as a person, on his family, and even his marriage as a result of the Civil Rights Movement.
Selma recreates 1960s America on screen in a beautiful and strikingly realistic manner by pairing fantastic costume design with immaculate production. In addition, Selma faithfully duplicates the look of 1960s America by mixing the soft, grainy footage typical of the sixties with a vibrant color palette to create a retro feel that still comes across as modern and pulls the audience back in time. In all, Selma eloquently duplicates a climactic moment in time-- one that is eerily still relevant today.