Trailer
Plot summary
Oscar Grant, 22, lives in Hayward, California, with his girlfriend Sophina and their young daughter, Tatiana. It is the last day of 2008, and Oscar wants to be a better son to his mother, Wanda, a better partner and a better father. He lost his job at a grocery store two weeks ago and has told no one, hoping to get it back. He and Sophina argue about his infidelity. He briefly considers selling marijuana again, then dumps the stash he has. He helps Chantay with money though his own rent is nearly due. In the evening he celebrates Wanda's birthday, then agrees to take the BART into San Francisco for the New Year's festivities because she worries about him driving.
Cast
- Marjorie Crump-Shearsas Grandma Bonnie (as Marjorie Shears)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Fruitvale Station (2013)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Octavia Spencer received a co-executive producer credit because she helped fund the film and contacted investors when a deal was lost during filming. Those investors included Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, the novel whose film version won Spencer an Oscar.
- Oscar Grant's real-life mother, Wanda Johnson, appears in the film herself in a small role, playing Mrs. Stacy, who is Tatiana's preschool teacher.
- BART agreed to let the crew film at Fruitvale station for only three four-hour nights, and San Quentin State Prison served as the location for a flashback scene, with prisoners appearing as extras.
- The score is by Coogler's fellow USC graduate Ludwig Göransson, who was sent the actual sound recordings of the BART train and manipulated them into an almost dark ambient synth sound used through nearly the whole BART platform scene.
SPOILER
The BART officers involved were fired, and the one the film renames "Ingram" was tried and found guilty of involuntary manslaughter, claiming he had mistaken his gun for his taser; he served an 11-month sentence.
