I finally saw this film last night. I had to wait until it was playing at a small indie theater, because none of the larger ones played it. So I am late in watching this.
The two standout performances for me were smaller roles in the film, Oprah's character, and the grandfather of Jimmie Lee Jackson - that scene where King confronted him after the death of Jimmie Lee was heart-wrenching, and in my opinion, the most moving moment of the film; and the bit at the end where he finally got to vote for the first time at the age of 84.
Considering the subject material, I was hoping this film would have been more intense overall. The explosion, which killed 4 girls, at the beginning appeared to set the tone for a film that was going to be intense; but it didn't feel it happened outside of the few tragic moments in the movie. The filmmakers missed out on a lot of the brutality and injustices that occurred at the time. As a result, I don't think this film ended up being nearly as moving throughout as it should have been.
One other thing, I don't know a lot about LBJ, but it seemed an odd choice to cast him as the primary villain in the federal government, when Hoover was right there for the role.
Overall, it's a good movie to watch if you're looking for a film about a revolutionary. I do wish that a bigger and more intense treatment was done, something on the level of Richard Attenborough's 1982 film Gandhi. King deserves a huge and epic movie. If they do one in the near future to mark the anniversary of his assassination, it would be nice if they kept the cast as they do have the potential to deliver.
The two standout performances for me were smaller roles in the film, Oprah's character, and the grandfather of Jimmie Lee Jackson - that scene where King confronted him after the death of Jimmie Lee was heart-wrenching, and in my opinion, the most moving moment of the film; and the bit at the end where he finally got to vote for the first time at the age of 84.
Considering the subject material, I was hoping this film would have been more intense overall. The explosion, which killed 4 girls, at the beginning appeared to set the tone for a film that was going to be intense; but it didn't feel it happened outside of the few tragic moments in the movie. The filmmakers missed out on a lot of the brutality and injustices that occurred at the time. As a result, I don't think this film ended up being nearly as moving throughout as it should have been.
One other thing, I don't know a lot about LBJ, but it seemed an odd choice to cast him as the primary villain in the federal government, when Hoover was right there for the role.
Overall, it's a good movie to watch if you're looking for a film about a revolutionary. I do wish that a bigger and more intense treatment was done, something on the level of Richard Attenborough's 1982 film Gandhi. King deserves a huge and epic movie. If they do one in the near future to mark the anniversary of his assassination, it would be nice if they kept the cast as they do have the potential to deliver.
-Insert Inspiring Quote-
