Fruitvale Station - review

Fruitvale Station begins with real-life camera footage of the incident on New Year's Day 2010 that claimed the life of 22 year-old Oscar Grant.

The footage is grainy, blurry but its impact is shocking and the result unbelievable.

Cut back to the start of New Year's Eve and the film proceeds to spend its time following the events in the last day of Oscar Grant's life, played by Michael B. Jordan.

This is certainly not a preaching to the choir portrayal of a martyred figure. The screenplay is careful to present a balanced (and presumably) truthful look at a flawed individual.

Oscar is no saint. He has been in jail, has dealt drugs and cheated on his girlfriend (who is also the mother of his child). Yet he shows the capacity for change, looking to use the New Year as the turning point in his life.

As his girlfriend tells him "it takes 30 days to form a habit, then it becomes second nature". Sadly Grant didn't even get 30 hours.

3 stars