Fruitvale Station is a 2013 American biographical drama film written and directed by Ryan Coogler. It is Coogler’s feature directorial debut and is based on the events leading to the death of Oscar Grant, a young man who was killed in 2009 by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle at the Fruitvale district station of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system in Oakland.
Plot
The film depicts the story of Oscar Grant III, a 22-year-old from Hayward, California, and his experiences on the last day of his life, before he was fatally shot by BART Police in the early morning hours of New Year’s Day 2009. The movie begins with the actual footage of Oscar Grant and his friends being detained by the BART Police at the Fruitvale BART station in Oakland on January 1, 2009, at 2:15 a.m. right before the shooting.
The film shows Grant and his girlfriend Sophina arguing about Grant’s recent infidelity. It later shows Grant unsuccessfully attempting to get his job back at the grocery store. He briefly considers selling some marijuana but in the end, decides to dump the stash. Grant later attends a birthday party for his mother, Wanda, and agrees to take the BART train to see fireworks and other New Year’s festivities in San Francisco since she is worried about him driving.
On the return train, Katie, a customer at the grocery store where Grant used to work, recognizes Grant and calls out his name. This causes a former inmate (during Grant’s days in jail) to notice Grant and a fight breaks out. The BART police respond to the scene. Grant is among the passengers the BART police attempt to arrest. While being restrained by officers Caruso and Ingram, he is shot in the back by Ingram. He is rushed to the hospital, where he dies in surgery.
Title cards at the end describe the aftermath: Grant’s killing sparked a series of protests and riots across the city and that the incident was recorded by several witnesses, either by cell phone or video camera. The BART Police officers involved were fired and “Ingram” (the officers’ names were changed) was later tried and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, claiming he mistook his gun for his Taser, and served an 11-month sentence. There is also footage of a gathering of people celebrating Grant’s life on New Year’s Day 2013 with the real-life, older Tatiana (Grant’s daughter) standing among them.
Cast
Michael B. Jordan as Oscar Grant III
Melonie Diaz as Sophina Mesa
Kevin Durand as Officer Caruso (based on Tony Pirone)
Chad Michael Murray as Officer Ingram (based on Johannes Mehserle)
Ahna O’Reilly as Katie
Octavia Spencer as Wanda Johnson
Christina Elmore as Ashae
Tamera Tomakili as Lauren
Chris Riedell as Joe
Denzel Worthington as Darius
Jonez Cain as Danae
Jasmin Bristow as Karen
Chris Mocorro as Donald
Robert Ajlouny as Officier Newsom
Noah Staggs as Officier Davidson
Joey Oglesby as Daniel Cale
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.