Not quite perfect (due to the fact that the film as a whole seems to be focusing more on situations as they occur and pass rather than as to how they will be viewed in history. One element that is completely flawless, and that is in the casting with no other actor of the time completely right for the part of Martin Luther King outside of Paul Winfield. Reunited with him is Cicely Tyson as devoted wife Coretta Scott, absolutely loyal and forever by his side even as history threatens to tear their family apart. King is not presented as some type of God, although flaws in his personal life have been tactfully left out. The film focuses on his ideals which is the fight for civil rights without the use of violence to get them.
The fight without violence makes him seem obsolete in a changing world, even within his own people, but the battle for integration in the very bigoted Birmingham shows how this potentially could have succeeded when the firemen reject the orders barked at them by the real life bigoted character played by Kenneth McMillan. Obviously, the heart and soul of a mostly righteous man could have the potential to open the hearts of bigots, and King asks for understanding in explaining the indoctrination of these people since they were children. Written and directed by Abby Mann and featuring a sensational ensemble, this takes the viewer into an ugly world filled with hatred that could only be softened with someone blessed by God to have the ability to lead, even if the final destination in his all to short life wasn't complete freedom.
The fight without violence makes him seem obsolete in a changing world, even within his own people, but the battle for integration in the very bigoted Birmingham shows how this potentially could have succeeded when the firemen reject the orders barked at them by the real life bigoted character played by Kenneth McMillan. Obviously, the heart and soul of a mostly righteous man could have the potential to open the hearts of bigots, and King asks for understanding in explaining the indoctrination of these people since they were children. Written and directed by Abby Mann and featuring a sensational ensemble, this takes the viewer into an ugly world filled with hatred that could only be softened with someone blessed by God to have the ability to lead, even if the final destination in his all to short life wasn't complete freedom.