Sundance ’13: ‘Fruitvale’ is a Heart-Wrenching Tale of Senseless Tragedy

Headlines called attention to the shooting of Oakland man Oscar Grant following an altercation gone awry with some police officers at the Bay Area Rapid Transit train station in the wee hours of the morning on New Year’s Day 2009, and riots broke out with accusations of police brutality, racism, and justifiable anger. Now newcomer Ryan Coogler takes the story in his hands as writer and director with Fruitvale, a film developed at the Sundance screenwriting labs with support from the Sundance institute and the result is a true indie film recounting one of the most harrowing tales of a man at the wrong place at the wrong time. The film opens with voiceover between Oscar (Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan) and Sophina (Melondie Diaz of Be Kind Rewind and Hamlet 2), having a conversation about making some fleeting changes in their life including a diet for Sophina and the end …