Fruitvale Station (2013)

The true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident, who crosses paths with friends, enemies, family, and strangers on the last day of 2008.

Director:

Ryan Coogler

Writer:

Ryan Coogler

Stars:

Kevin Durand, Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Chad Michael Murray	...	Officer Ingram
Kevin Durand	...	Officer Caruso
Michael B. Jordan	...	Oscar
Ahna O'Reilly	...	Katie
Octavia Spencer	...	Wanda
Melonie Diaz	...	Sophina
Ariana Neal	...	Tatiana
Mahal Montoya	...	West Oakland BART Station Commuter
Tatiana Maricely	...	BART Party Girl #2
Joey Oglesby	...	Daniel Cale
Ken Venzke	...	Reporter / NYE Partygoer
Gabriel Koura	...	Musician
Sean Mann	...	Bart Witness
Alex Alessandro Garcia	...	Officer Sanchez
Arlene Barshinger	...	BART Witness

Storyline

This is the true story of Oscar, a 22-year-old Bay Area resident who wakes up on the morning of December 31, 2008 and feels something in the air. Not sure what it is, he takes it as a sign to get a head start on his resolutions: being a better son to his mother, whose birthday falls on New Year's Eve, being a better partner to his girlfriend, who he hasn't been completely honest with as of late, and being a better father to T, their beautiful 4 year old daughter. He starts out well, but as the day goes on, he realizes that change is not going to come easy. He crosses paths with friends, family, and strangers, each exchange showing us that there is much more to Oscar than meets the eye. But it would be his final encounter of the day, with police officers at the Fruitvale BART station that would shake the Bay Area to its very core, and cause the entire nation to be witnesses to the story of Oscar Grant.

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Plot Keywords:

bay area | 22 year old | police officer | new year's eve | public transit | 

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Taglines:

Every step brings you closer to the edge.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Pinterest

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fruitvale

Filming Locations:

San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forest Whitaker's Significant Productions, OG Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was the recipient of two San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation grants in 2012; $100,000 in May for production, and $100,000 in December for post-production. The film was also selected for the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab in January 2012, and received both a Time Warner Storytelling Fellowship and Cinereach Project at Sundance Institute Grant.

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Soundtracks

"Hey Little Mama"
Written by Stanley Cox, Johnny Castaneda, D. Newton and Jason Valerio
Performed by Mistah FAB, Johnny Ca&h and The Jacka
Courtesy of Thizz Ent. and Faeva Afta Ent.

User Reviews

Socially Irresponsible

This film embodies what happens when a filmmaker is ignorant of some of the facts and twists the others. He maintains it wasn't meant to be accurate; if so, he should have chosen a less incendiary topic. Left out is the most salient point that Mehserle had been warned by Dispatch that the huge "partying" crowd arriving soon that would coming out of the door had been already stopped by the police, found to be drugged and drunk, many had known records, were behaving rowdy and violently, and some had been arrested earlier on the spot for weapons violations. Dispatch also should have sent S.O. and P.D. backup. These were NOT Boy Scouts! He expected an Armageddon (and ended up getting one). He made a simple motor-memory error, common for rookies in high-adrenaline situations, and for that was demonized, arrested, tried, and imprisoned for simply doing his job. The anti-white, anti-police racism of the surrounding community basically cried for his arrest and conviction and got it. But no crime had occurred, and outside Oakland no charges would have been filed. It is an extremely tragic story, and the objective truth cannot be known by researching local press, which panders to the Oakland Black political machine. Mehserle deserves a better, fair treatment of his case.