(2014) (David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo) (PG-13)
- QUICK TAKE:
- Drama: A civil rights leader must contend with opposition, pushback and violence as he tries to organize a peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama to protest the fact that black Americans don't have equal voting rights.
- PLOT:
- It's early 1965 and despite the passing of the Civil Rights Act a year earlier, black citizens in the American South, such as Annie Lee Cooper (OPRAH WINFREY), still face racism so vehement that they find it all but impossible to register to vote. While members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, such as James Forman (TRAI BYERS) and John Lewis (STEPHAN JAMES), think they're making progress, they can't have much success, what with Alabama Governor George Wallace (TIM ROTH) happily allowing the likes of racist sheriff Jim Clark (STAN HOUSTON) to keep suppressing the black folks.
As a result, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (DAVID OYELOWO) has been pressing Lyndon B. Johnson (TOM WILKINSON) to do something, but the President is reluctant for a number of reasons. FBI director J. Edger Hoover (DYLAN BAKER) isn't pleased with King and sets out to bring him and his movement down and wiretaps all involved. That also includes anonymous harassing phone calls, something that doesn't sit well with Martin's wife, Coretta (CARMEN EJOGO), who's becoming increasingly tired of his work keeping him away from their family, and worries that something bad is going to happen to him.
Undeterred by any of that, King decides to travel to Selma and join members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, including Reverend Hosea Williams (WENDELL PIERCE) and James Bevel (COMMON), among many others. Their plan is to march from Selma to Montgomery to protest -- non-violently -- the lack of voting rights for blacks. But their first attempt is met by brutal violence at the hands of Sheriff Clark and his men as well as state troopers. Determined to succeed, they then plan to try again, all while various power players watch on from a distance, unsure of what will happen next.
- WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
- Younger kids probably won't, but teens interested in the true-life story might be interested.
- WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
- For disturbing thematic material including violence, a suggestive moment, and brief strong language.
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