Selma – The film

I have just been to see the film Selma. In 1965, this Alabama city became the battleground in the fight for suffrage. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery the state capital of Alabama.

Firstly, I feel ashamed about my ignorance of this fight for suffrage in the USA during my lifetime. Although I am from the UK, I should have known more about this period in recent history. I knew about Rosa Parks and some of the life of Malcolm X, but this march had passed me by. This film was an education for me. Some of the scenes were harrowing particularly those set on the Edmund Pettus Bridge and the graphic depiction of the murder of James Reeb.

Secondly, the acting was brilliant and I wonder why David Oyewolo hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar? He was superb and you wouldn’t know he was from the UK. The same comment applies to both Tom Wilkinson and Tim Roth in their roles as LBJ and George Wallace respectively.