Selma
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: December 25, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 52 Critic Reviews
Positive:
46
Mixed:
5
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonJan 8, 2015
Oyelowo takes full advantage of his close physical resemblance to King, but he wisely avoids mere impersonation, delivering a performance that’s as sensitive as it is spellbinding. Read full review
100
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallJan 8, 2015
This is a modest film with towering potential to make a difference, looking back to move forward. Read full review
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDec 30, 2014
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. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comOdie HendersonDec 24, 2014
Known for her superb indie dramas “I Will Follow” and “Middle of Nowhere”, DuVernay has proven herself a master of small, intimate moments. Selma never loses focus on the interpersonal dynamics between King and his followers, his detractors and his family. Read full review
100
Washington PostAnn HornadayDec 23, 2014
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. Read full review
100
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierDec 23, 2014
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. Read full review
100
New York PostLou LumenickDec 23, 2014
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. Read full review
100
Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekDec 23, 2014
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. Read full review
100
Time OutJoshua RothkopfDec 23, 2014
The film plays like a better episode of "Mad Men," pitch-perfect in its details yet fully lived-in: a universe of rolled-up shirt sleeves, sweat-laden brows and screams that don’t sound canned. Read full review
100
Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyDec 17, 2014
DuVernay has done a great service with Selma. Not only has she made one of the most powerful films of the year, she's given us a necessary reminder of what King did for this country...and how much is left to be done. Read full review
100
The TelegraphTim RobeyDec 8, 2014
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. Read full review
100
The PlaylistCharlie SchmidlinNov 12, 2014
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. Read full review
100
TheWrapJames RocchiNov 12, 2014
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. Read full review
91
Portland OregonianMarc MohanJan 9, 2015
A film this heartfelt and intelligent about social justice will never be unimportant, but it feels especially relevant today. Read full review
91
HitfixGregory EllwoodNov 12, 2014
In a year of remarkable performances, Oyelowo is simply magnificent as Dr. King. Read full review
90
Arizona RepublicBarbara VanDenburghJan 8, 2015
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. Read full review
90
The DissolveScott TobiasDec 22, 2014
DuVernay stages well-known public events like the “Bloody Sunday” march with scrupulousness, scope, and a gut-wrenching visceral power. But Selma’s true success is as a chamber piece, not a thundering historical epic. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenDec 28, 2018
David Oyelowo plays King, and there’s no denying he brings a charismatic forcefulness to the part. This is particularly true in his speeches, which begin calmly, rooted in reason, and then whip up into a righteous fury that he struggles to contain and barely – just barely – does. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaFeb 2, 2015
Selma may be flawed, even spurious at points. But in its larger portrait of a man of dignity, purpose, and courage, and in Oyelowo's performance as that man, the film rings true. Read full review
88
USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]Jan 9, 2015
A deeply moving film, it's a powerful reminder of a time not so long ago when, for a large group of Americans, attempting to register to vote could result in a serious threat to their lives. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliJan 8, 2015
What Selma does so well is to bring to life the events of 1965, especially "Bloody Sunday" (the first march). It's one thing to read about these moments in a history book but another altogether to see them on the screen. The movie is riveting. Read full review
88
Boston GlobeTy BurrJan 8, 2015
Selma is at its very best when it gets into the nitty-gritty of the SCLC’s arrival in Selma amid colliding factions and forces. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezJan 8, 2015
Instead of a history lesson, Selma plays like suspenseful, absorbing drama. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsJan 3, 2015
Like "Lincoln," written by Tony Kushner and directed by Steven Spielberg, DuVernay's Selma ushers us into the world of the backstage, back-room and back-scratching political process, dramatizing how the sausage was actually made. Read full review
88
Rolling StonePeter TraversDec 24, 2014
The sad fact is that racial injustice is timelier than ever. Righteous fury is in the air. And that fervor to stand up and be counted is all over Selma. Read full review
86
IGNMatt PatchesJan 9, 2019
Selma pierces a Civil Rights milestone with honesty, avoiding damning accusations or easy schmaltz to reflect true human triumph. With expansive shots of protests in motion and intimate, shadowy close-ups of King locked in jail, DuVernay's direction brings to life what many only know in black-and-white snapshots. Read full review
80
CineVueBen NicholsonDec 28, 2018
A vital and timely missive to a new generation that is as sobering as it is uplifting, all built around a performance of astounding accomplishment. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Mark KermodeNov 19, 2018
The film may not be flawless (it’s a touch textbooky at times) but Oyelowo is note-perfect. Read full review
80
Total FilmJames MottramFeb 2, 2015
Powerful drama, driven by a powerhouse performance, Selma is this year’s Lincoln. For Oyelowo and DuVernay, it’s a career changer. Read full review
80
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Feb 2, 2015
It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it’s incredibly powerful and often moving, anchored by an awards-worthy performance from Oyelowo. Read full review
80
TimeRichard CorlissJan 13, 2015
A movie like Selma should be a relic in a time capsule from 1965, a clue to how well we heeded King’s words and how far we have advanced. Instead it is a reminder that the “American problem” has yet to be solved. Read full review
80
NPRBob MondelloDec 26, 2014
The film's timing, in short, could hardly be more resonant. And DuVernay's most remarkable accomplishment may be that with such passion inspiring material, she has made such a measured, resolute and levelheaded film. Read full review
80
The New York TimesA.O. ScottDec 24, 2014
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. Read full review
80
SlateDana StevensDec 22, 2014
By focusing on the power of cannily staged collective action to turn the tide of public opinion, Selma achieves a contemporary relevance that few historical dramas can — especially those built around real-life figures as encrusted in layers of hagiography as MLK. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyJan 9, 2015
Taken strictly as a movie, though, Selma is an uneven yet generally skillful effort that has probably drawn more praise and criticism than it warrants. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleJan 8, 2015
This is a remarkable performance, remarkable not only in its force, but in its strength and precision. Oyelowo is reason alone to see Selma, and if you need another reason, there’s Carmen Ejogo, as a lovely, strong and haunted Coretta Scott King. Read full review
75
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 6, 2015
Anyone who has heard tapes of the real King confronting LBJ will realize that the power dynamic depicted here just doesn’t ring true. King’s moral authority asserted itself, but nobody stood up to Johnson to his face. Nobody. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerDec 24, 2014
The best thing about the movie is David Oyelowo’s performance as King. He doesn’t simply portray King; he inhabits him. Read full review
75
The A.V. ClubA.A. Dowd Dec 22, 2014
As cinema, Selma is commendable; as cultural barometer, it’s beyond reproach. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineSteve MacfarlaneDec 17, 2014
What will make the film essential for future generations isn't mere flashpoint topicality, but the way it aligns an old struggle with a current one. Read full review
75
ObserverRex ReedDec 17, 2014
As vital as it is, racial strife is a subject that cries out for a more volatile treatment than this. The Alabama marching sequences and resulting violence, filmed in Selma, where they actually happened, are too understated for my taste. And the home life of King and his vacillating wife Coretta are muted. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinDec 23, 2014
It’s sensational in the open air and subtle in smaller, enclosed spaces. It has sweep and intimacy. And, yes, we need this movie now. Read full review
70
The New YorkerDavid DenbyDec 15, 2014
This is cinema, more rhetorical, spectacular, and stirring than cable-TV drama: again and again, DuVernay’s camera (Bradford Young did the cinematography) tracks behind characters as they march, or gentles toward them as they approach, receiving them with a friendly hand. Read full review
70
VarietyScott FoundasNov 12, 2014
DuVernay’s razor-sharp portrait of the Civil Rights movement — and Dr. King himself — at a critical crossroads is as politically astute as it is psychologically acute, giving us a human-scale King whose indomitable public face belies currents of weariness and self-doubt. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterStephen FarberNov 12, 2014
Intelligently written, vividly shot, tightly edited, sharply acted, the film represents a rare example of craftsmanship working to produce a deeply moving piece of history. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenJan 7, 2015
Although Selma is dramatically uneven overall, the film is a commendable historical drama that sidesteps the pitfalls of adulatory biopics and great-man approaches to encapsulating bygone events. Read full review
60
The GuardianSteve RoseDec 8, 2014
Unimpeachably important, ambitious in its scope and handsomely presented, it has all the hallmarks of a trophy winner, for better and worse. Read full review
40
Film Journal InternationalEthan AlterJan 3, 2020
Perhaps not surprisingly, Selma seems to understand King best when he's behind a podium or at the head of a march. After all, that public Martin Luther King, Jr. is the one engrained in our collective memory, representing the kind of person we all should be so lucky to aspire to be. Read full review
40
SalonAndrew O'HehirDec 27, 2014
The scenes with Johnson and Wallace, although intrinsically interesting, drag down the drama somewhat, and...every minute we're away from the firecracker atmosphere of rural Alabama detracts from the overall impact. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternDec 24, 2014
At its best, Ava DuVernay’s biographical film honors Dr. King’s legacy by dramatizing the racist brutality that spurred him and his colleagues to action. The director and her screenwriter, Paul Webb, are less successful — sometimes much less so — at breathing life into the private moments that define King as an inspirational figure with human flaws, and a political as well as spiritual force. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranDec 24, 2014
As well done as much of Selma is, it periodically falls from grace with moments that are either emotionally flat or excessively agitprop in nature. Consistently the most ineffective scenes are those that involve powerful but obstructionist white people, especially the unhelpful trio of Johnson, Alabama Gov. George Wallace (Tim Roth) and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Dylan Baker). The deftness with acting and character that can be this film’s strength simply deserts it here. Read full review
30
Screen DailyJohn HazeltonJan 9, 2019
Sequences depicting the Selma marches – the first of which led to violent police attacks that were seen on national TV and helped change the mood of the country – are fairly understated, when a more visceral approach might have given the film more emotional heft. Read full review
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