94% Fruitvale Station

All Critics (127) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (119) | Rotten (8)

It's hard not to watch Fruitvale Station with a coiled dread... Yet, Coogler's greatest achievement may be in reminding us that Grant was a work in progress with people who loved him in spite of his flaws and because of his hopes.

We feel the death on the platform so acutely not because it's a stupid act of randomness, but hardly untypical racist violence, but because we've come to love this man.

Michael B. Jordan (The Wire and Friday Night Lights) plays Oscar with the heart and compelling charm required to make us feel close to him.

It's a story of one young man's tragedy, a story that resonates with so many other tragedies. Oscar Grant wasn't some mere symbol; this film makes him flesh and, unfortunately, blood.

An eloquent memorial for a man who barely experienced life, and a haunting reminder of how quickly it can be lost.

Some of this narrative feels cliched, but Coogler and his actors make it work by leaning toward understatement.

This dramatic story is told in a fair and balanced way, supplemented with excellent acting.

A powerful acknowledgement of existence

It's funny how the bloated, overly lengthy studio blockbusters have far less impact than 90 minutes of a relatively brief, CGI-free 'little' movie such as 'Fruitvale Station.'

The slow first hour is more than compensated for by the half hour climax that leaves one in tears.

As Grant, Michael B. Jordan's stunning good looks and immaculately restrained acting affects even those who don't want to be manipulated-who want to watch this story with unfogged eyes.

Without emotion-tweaking music or too much fictional streamlining and highlighting, he captures a sense of the random and pointless horror of a young man shot in the back while laying on his stomach

...writer-director Ryan Coogler and his actors do such a good job the film is consistently compelling despite its predestined finale.

after seeing Fruitvale Station you should come away with the impulse to muse on the life behind the next tragic homicide in the news that sparks debate ...

The film is both personal and universal. Jordan can be so touching, and his intimidating ferocity is palpable. This is an important picture with a breakout performance.

Fruitvale Station's arrival in theaters corresponds with the outcry over the Trayvon Martin case. But Fruitvale did not need added relevancy to be remarkable.

Fruitvale Station is a heart-rending stop; just remember that the line doesn't end there.

Was Oscar Grant going to turn his life around? We'll never know because of a pointless act of violence.

Coogler's take quietly serves to show Grant as a human being, with his flaws and redeeming qualities, and not just as a face in a newspaper obituary.

...a palpably low-key premise that's employed to continuously engrossing effect by first-time writer/director Ryan Coogler...

'Fruitvale Station' is a movie people are going to be talking about and it's a conversation you don't want to be left out of.

You wonder if Coogler would have felt freer had Grant somehow lived that night, if the director weren't put in a position where he felt the need to honor the dead by bringing him to dramatic life. But he believes in his ambition.

Many recent movies so cavalierly dispense thousands upon thousands of ammunition rounds, you can sometimes forget the effect that one bullet can have on human life.

A tragically relevant and incredibly important film that deserves all the attention it can get from American audiences.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/fruitvale_station/

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