Fruitvale Station (2013)

The story of Oscar Grant III, 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:

Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer

39 wins & 54 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael B. Jordan	...	Oscar Grant
Melonie Diaz	...	Sophina
Octavia Spencer	...	Wanda
Kevin Durand	...	Officer Caruso
Chad Michael Murray	...	Officer Ingram
Ahna O'Reilly	...	Katie
Ariana Neal	...	Tatiana
Keenan Coogler	...	Cato
Trestin George	...	Brandon
Joey Oglesby	...	Cale
Michael James	...	Carlos
Marjorie Crump-Shears	...	Grandma Bonnie (as Marjorie Shears)
Destiny Ekwueme	...	Chantay
Bianca Rodriguez III	...	Vanessa (as Bianca Rodriguez)
Julian Keyes	...	Kris

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:

gay | friendship | reference to the pittsburgh steelers | ex convict | officer | 

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Taglines:

Every step brings you closer to the edge.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence, language throughout and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Pinterest

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

26 July 2013 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fruitvale

Filming Locations:

Oakland, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$386,291, 14 July 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$16,097,842, 27 October 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Forest Whitaker's Significant Productions,OG Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film received 2 grants from the San Francisco Film Society/Kenneth Rainin Foundation in 2012: $100,000 in May for production, and $100,000 in December for post-production.

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Goofs

When Oscar drops his daughter off at daycare, he has to knock on the door to enter with her. When he picks her up later, he walks up the side driveway, enters the back yard and starts playing with her. No one really acknowledges him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Oscar Grant: What's your resolution?
Sophina: I'm gonna cut carbs.
Oscar Grant: Aren't you Mexican? You can't eat nothin' Grandma makes.
Sophina: It only takes 30 days to form a habit, and then it becomes second nature.
Oscar Grant: Who says that?
Sophina: Oprah.
Oscar Grant: Okay. Oprah cool now?
Sophina: What's yours?
Oscar Grant: I wanna quit selling trees.

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Connections

Referenced in Pride & Prejudice & Zombies (2013)

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Soundtracks

Mob Shit
Written by M. Wade and D. Newton
Performed by The Jacka, Cellski & Peezy
Courtesy of The Artist Records and Inner City 2K

User Reviews

Should have been a short

Fruitvale Station, in an ultra minimalistic approach and a slowness almost caricatural of the « indie » scene, tries to humanize this tragedy by depicting the victim in his best light, but this process is too simplistic, too obvious, and no real sympathy arouses for Oscar.

Granted, the ouctome itself is tragic but everything that is related before, those contemplative day-to-day life scenes, has no direct connection with it and 90% of the script therefore turn out to be almost pointless, and though the film lasts only 1h25, it seems long.

Fruitvale Station probably would have been more relevant as a short feature since there wasn't much material for more.