Selma

By Michael Muir

I worried this tribute to Martin Luther King and his co-campaigners could be a golden-hued hagiography (the great man speaks, the music swells).

But no. It’s a realistic, gripping account of events surrounding marches in Selma, Alabama that led to the Voting Rights Act (1965).The frustration, anger and pain are all too real and this realism is a fitting tribute to people who sacrificed so much – even their lives in some cases.

Paul Webb (Writer), Ava DuVernay (Director) and the cast create great immediacy; the naturalistic approach to dialogue and events is totally believable.

David Oyelowo has the cadences of Dr King’s voice and the fire still burns in the passionate belief of those recreated speeches.

They took your life, they could not take your pride. . . (U2)

Jazz musician Jason Moran wrote the score.

Politicians currently dawdling about constitutional recognition of Indigenous people should watch this. (MMu)

4/5 stars