Selma (2014)

"A monumental achievement."

— Dwight Brown, National Newspaper Publishers Association

"In a year of remarkable performances, Oyelowo is simply magnificent as Dr. King. [2014]"

— Gregory Ellwood, Hitfix

"Ava DuVernay's vital civil rights drama is the film Martin Luther King deserved."

— David Jenkins, Little White Lies

"A film this heartfelt and intelligent about social justice will never be unimportant, but it feels especially relevant today. [2014]"

— Marc Mohan, Portland Oregonian

"It is not hyperbole to say Oyelowo is a revelation. The British actor brings phenomenal humanity, grace and torment to a historical figure who once seemed to loom too large a legend to make flesh on screen."

— Barbara VanDenburgh, Arizona Republic

"The battle it documents is both a cornerstone of the past and a reflection of ongoing struggles. DuVernay infuses Selma with that dichotomy, never forgetting how Selma, the place, was a pledge to march ahead."

— Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

"Working from a script by Paul Webb and aided by stark, beautiful, sometimes startlingly realistic cinematography by Bradford Young, DuVernay has delivered a powerful and moving portrait of Martin Luther King Jr."

— Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

"Brilliantly acted and directed, Ava DuVernay’s towering Selma is Hollywood’s definitive depiction of the 1960s American civil rights movement — as well as perhaps the most timely movie you’ll see this year. [2014]"

— Lou Lumenick, New York Post

"With Selma, DuVernay has pulled off a tricky feat, a movie based on historical events that never feels dull, worthy, or lifeless; it hangs together as a story and not just part of a lesson plan. The movie is at once intimate and grand in scope."

— Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice

"Selma is one of the best American films of the year — and indeed perhaps the best — precisely because it does not simply show what Dr. King did for America in his day; it also wonders explicitly what we have left undone for America in ours."

— James Rocchi, TheWrap

"Even if you think you know what’s coming, Selma hums with suspense and surprise. Packed with incident and overflowing with fascinating characters, it is a triumph of efficient, emphatic cinematic storytelling. And much more than that, of course."

— A.O. Scott, The New York Times

"David Oyelowo has never given a better performance. He seems to penetrate into King’s soul and camps out there for two hours. He’s tremendous, of course, when electrifying his congregation at the podium, but a sense of fatigue is even more paramount."

— Tim Robey, The Telegraph

"There are several reasons to see Selma — for its virtuosity and scale, scope and sheer beauty. But then there are its lessons, which have to do with history, but also today: Selma invites viewers to heed its story, meditate on its implications and allow those images once again to change our hearts and minds."

— Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

"Selma is vital correspondence, filmmaking lived on the streets where brutal facts were ignored then reported, and now snatched back from history to sustain a spirit few films can or will possess. It is stunning humanistic cinema on a mainstream scale... It has inventiveness, urgency, humor, and most of all emotion that draws effortless parallels rather than leaving its lesson up on the screen."

— Charlie Schmidlin, The Playlist