Fruitvale Station Movie Review: Michael B. Jordan Will Likely Nab an Oscar Nomination

Michael B. Jordan in Fruitvale Credit: courtesy of The Weinstein Company
In Theaters: Now

It’s not too soon to trumpet Michael B. Jordan as a likely 2014 Best Actor Oscar nominee. The soft-spoken, baby-faced actor — best known for his fine TV work in The Wire, Friday Night Lights and Parenthood — is that powerful in this exceptional drama.

The true story traces the last day in the life of Oscar Grant (Jordan), a 22-year-old ex-con who was shot in the back by an Oakland transit cop in the Fruitvale train station just after New Year’s Eve in 2009. His death and the police officer's ensuing slap-on-the-wrist conviction led to massive protests throughout the area.

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That’s the headline. This film captures the human. Thanks to a series of quietly riveting snapshots, Oscar is shown as a caring father, an aimless pot dealer, a doting boyfriend, and a short-fused punk who angrily threatens his former grocery store supervisor. In a searing flashback scene, Oscar, whose drug-dealing landed in him in jail, gets a visitation from his mom (Octavia Spencer) on her birthday. One minute, he’s nonchalantly conversing with her about his daughter; the next, he’s embroiled in a knock-down fight with a fellow inmate; the next, he’s tearfully begging his mom for a hug as she leaves in a furious huff. It’s an unflinching, 360-degree character portrait.

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Ultimately, Oscar is the hapless victim. Though his demise is set up in the prologue, this doesn’t make his last chaotic moments in Fruitvale any less tension-filled: As he lay handcuffed face-down on the ground unarmed, pleading to the arresting, menacing police officers of his innocence, audiences might get lulled into the feeling that maybe — just maybe — his life will be spared. Instead, his death is played out in haunting fashion. Spencer’s reaction to every parent's worst nightmare is a gut-wrencher.

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All this drama might seem overwrought and manipulative — if it weren't for the actual raw footage, shown in the film, from horrified onlookers who recorded the incident on their Smartphones. In the end, these eyewitness accounts help bring Oscar’s murder to justice. Just know that his unshakeable tale doesn’t bring closure.

Bad at math? You're more likely to lose your home

According to a study released Monday, math-challenged borrowers were five times more likely to default on their loans.



"Whether you're good with numbers predicts how likely you are to default," said Stephan Meier, an associate professor of business at Columbia Business School, who authored the report along with economists from the Federal Reserve of Atlanta and the University of Zurich.

The study examined several hundred borrowers who held mortgages issued in 2006 and 2007 -- right before the mortgage meltdown. Of the study subjects, 25% of the borrowers who scored in the lowest bracket for math skills had defaulted on mortgage payments within five years of getting the loans. Meanwhile, only 5% of those in the top tier for math skills defaulted.

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The survey sample included homebuyers from a variety of backgrounds, from blue collar workers to corporate professionals. Their math ability covered the gamut -- from those with very limited abilities to a mathematician with a six-figure salary, according to Kristopher Gerardi, an economist with the Federal Reserve of Atlanta.

The researchers controlled for differences in overall intelligence by measuring for verbal and general IQs, as well as math skills, and controlled for socioeconomic factors, such as age, sex, income, ethnicity and local labor market conditions.

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Surprisingly, it did not seem to matter what kind of mortgage the borrowers had, the researchers found. "Those lacking [math skills] will still get in more trouble later on even if they pick a plain vanilla mortgage," said Meier.

The researchers asked the survey participants a series of five basic questions. The simplest question asked them how much a $300 sofa would cost at a half-price sale. The most difficult asked how much a savings account of $200 would grow to after earning 10% interest for two years.

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Determining why those with poor math skills default on mortgages more often than others will take more research, but previous studies suggest that people who struggle with simple math also struggle with handling their finances, according to Gerardi. This group tends to budget less carefully, misuse credit cards and mishandle financial emergencies, such as temporary income losses. When they hit a rough financial patch, they may not understand the math well enough to negotiate the most favorable settlements with lenders.

"When bad events happened, they don't react optimally," said Meier.



The report suggested that benefits could come from improved financial education. The more homeowners understand money matters, the less likely they are to mishandle them.