FRUITVALE STATION tells the true story of Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old Oakland, CA resident over the course of December 31, 2008 as he works on being a better son to his mother (Octavia Spencer), being a better partner to his girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) and being a better father to Tatiana (Ariana Neal), their beautiful four year-old daughter. As the day goes on Oscar realises that change is not going to come easily and as he and Sophina celebrate the New Year and a fresh start, one truly shocking, tragedy shakes his community - and the entire United States - to its very core.
That ScreenAnarchy's own Sean Smithson drew comparisons with Beasts of the Southern Wild tells you all you need to know about the buzz this film has been generating. Sean praised the film's avoidance of simply being a reductive "one dimensional rendering of "Da' hood" like so many other films have been". "Highly recommended", he concluded.
Any film that successfully negotiates cliché, pulling away from tired cinematic representations of an area or group is worth a look in my eyes. If you haven't already, check out the trailer below.
Fruitvale Station is released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 6th June 2014 through Altitude Film Distribution.