Selma (2015)
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AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Fueled by a gripping performance from David Oyelowo, Selma draws inspiration and dramatic power from the life and death of Martin Luther King, Jr. -- but doesn't ignore how far we remain from the ideals his work embodied.
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Cast
as Martin Luther King Jr.
as Coretta Scott King
as Lyndon Baines Johnson
as Fred Gray
as John Doar
as Lee C. White
as James Bevel
as Reverend Hosea Williams
as Amelia Boynton
as George Wallace
as Annie Lee Cooper
as Andrew Young
as James Orange
as Diane Nash
as Ralph Abernathy
as Frank Minis Johnson
as J. Edgar Hoover
as Richie Jean Jackson
as Jimmie Lee Jackson
as John Lewis

as President's Secretary

as Malcolm X
as James Reeb

as Church/Funeral Attendant
as CT Vivian
as Hudson-Bayard Rustin
as James Forman

as Deputized Klansman
as Reverend Frederick Reese

as Viola Liuzzo
as Cager Lee
as Dr. Sullivan Jackson

as Viola Lee
as Female Marcher

as Hotel Patron/Selma Citizen

as Roy Reed

as Sheriff Jim Clark
as Klansman #1

as Registrar

as LBJ's Aide

as Mahalia Jackson
as Anthony Liuzzo

as Marie Reeb (as Elizabeth Wells Berkes)
as Actor

as Alabama State Attorney

as Civil Rights Activist

as Klansman

as Girl #5

as Girl #5

as Young Marcher

as Daughter

as Girl #1

as AA eFx Marcher

as National Guardsman

as Funeral Attendee

as Archbishop Iakovos

as Girl

as National Guardsman

as Black Marcher

as Senator

as Girl #2

as Alabama State Trooper/Selma Alabama Police

as Voice on Recorder

as Angry Marcher

as Church/Funeral Attendant

as Congressman

as State Attorney

as Senator

as Reporter

as LBJ's Marine Guard/White House Aide

as Reeb's Companion

as Elderly Marcher

as Young Marcher

as Senator John J. Williams

as Deputy Sheriff

as Marcher

as Dallas County Deputy

as Congressional Aide

as Female Marcher

as Montgomery Police Officer

as Sheriff Posseman
as Press/Reporter

as National Guardsman

as Male Marcher

as Angry White Woman

as Montgomery Police Officer

as Man on Street

as Female Marcher

as White Supporter

as Racist Spectator

as Funeral Attendee

as Racist Spectator/White Marcher/Press Background

as Deputized Klansman

as Marcher

as Church Attendant

as National Guardsman

as Court Room Attendant
News & Interviews for Selma
Critic Reviews for Selma
All Critics (237) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (234) | Rotten (3) | DVD (2)
More often than not ... "Selma" focuses on the one thing we don't expect in a movie about Martin Luther King Jr. - his doubts - and Oyelowo comes through with a deeply felt and quite brilliant performance.
This is a film about work: the work at hand, the work it takes to do the work, and, for an audience in 2015, the question of whether the work worked.
Vivid, nuanced and, yes, timely.
Like Dr. King did, the film captures your mind and your heart as it entertains, the way great movies often do.
An uneven yet generally skillful effort that has probably drawn more praise and criticism than it warrants.
This is what Selma dares to do so well: show us the small, private moments in King's life, the intimacies, the humanity.
Audience Reviews for Selma
The story of Martin Luther King's efforts to give black Americans the right to vote in the 1960s is mostly engaging and interestingly portrayed. Some conversations could have used some trimming, there are a few slow parts. But the acting is top notch, especially Oyelowo is fantastic during King's speeches. It is the ending with original footage from the walk that is particularly touching and well done. Especially when you realize what a step backwards we seem to be taking currently.
Super Reviewer
There is a problem with the revolution: too often the ends are forgotten in times of plenty. Because of that we are often inflicted with poor quality calls to enlightenment whose substance is so poor as to subvert their intended purpose(remember "The Butler"?). The opposite is true here. Masterful historical storytelling whose purpose is never forgotten. Must see.
Super Reviewer
Such a travesty that David Oyelowo and Ava DuVernay were not nominated for Best Actor and Director Oscars. Oyelowo could and should have easily swept awards season (since McConaissance wasn't in the picture :-P) with his resonant basso and gut-rumbling delivery of MLK's marcato articulation. His dynamic gestures as well as his wide, knowing eyes carry the wins and losses of the Selma protest march and almost foreshadows the tragedy to come. Ava DuVernay's perceptive direction interweaves several concurrent threads: from the earth-shattering bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, to Annie Lee Cooper's stalwart struggles to vote, to MLK and Coretta Scott's marital strife.
Super Reviewer
Selma Quotes
Martin Luther King, Jr.: | When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because you shall reap what you saw. When will we be free? Soon. |
Martin Luther King, Jr.: | When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because you shall reap what you saw. When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because no lie can live forever. |
Martin Luther King Jr.: | When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because you shall reap what you sow. When will we be free? Soon and very soon. Because no lie can live forever. |
Martin Luther King, Jr.: | To Cager Lee after Jimmie Lee Jackson's death: There are no words to soothe you. But I know one thing for certain: God was the first to cry. |
Martin Luther King, Jr.: | What happens when a man stands up...says enough is enough? |
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