As Michael B. Jordan continues to get his well-deserved flowers and awards for his dual role in Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners,” fans online are pointing to a previous film that made a strong case for Jordan’s impressive acting prowess over a decade earlier: the 2013 film “Fruitvale Station.” And if we’re honest, they make a good point.
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For context, the discourse was inspired by a now-viral clip from the film that began circulating on X/Twitter on Wednesday that explained how Jordan’s costar in the film, Octavia Spencer, stepped in to cover the rest of the costs of the film so it could get made. If you don’t know, in “Fruitvale Station,” Jordan portrays real life Oscar Grant, the unarmed Black man who was fatally shot by BART police in Oakland on New Year’s Day in 2009. The film takes a look at the events leading up to Grant’s last moments with Spencer in a supporting role, portraying Grant’s mother Wanda.
When it comes to the clip specifically, Jordan and Spencer are going toe-to-toe in a scene where she confronts him about landing in jail again. Jordan’s portrayal of a frustrated Black man who wants to do better and swears this is the last time he’s in this kind of trouble is so authentic, you almost forget he’s just playing a role. By the time his mood switches from remorse to anger after Wanda tells his character that she would no longer be visiting him while he’s behind bars, you can’t help but be taken aback by how viscerally he reacts.
It’s an expert portrayal that highlights the complicated dynamic between a mother who wants her son to just get his sh*t together and a man whose own internal demons have prevented him from doing so for a long time. As Grant, Jordan embodies a man who’s hit rock bottom but won’t get out of his own way or listen to somebody wiser than him to escape it. And to think, he was doing all of this before he turned into the hard-headed, yet determined Adonis Creed; the vengeful and dangerous Killmonger; or the ambitious gangsters like the Smokestack Twins. Let some fans tell it, “Fruitvale” should’ve gotten him an Oscar a long time ago.
And after seeing this clip, many users couldn’t help but point to it as Jordan’s best role prior to his Academy Award nominated one in “Sinners” and went online to say as much.
“[This movie] Deserved way more at the Oscar’s. Have only watched this one time. R.I.P. Oscar Grant,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.
“SIDENOTE: When people say Michael B Jordan can’t act, tell them to watch this movie. Nigga was in his bag,” said another in part.
“For me, this is when I first saw Michael B. Jordan and have been a fan ever since,” one other user wrote.
Added another: “Nah Michael b is actually goated.”
“Movie was so good that there’s moments where you’re pulling for him to have a win before remembering it’s a real story about a man’s last 24 hours. Also, this movie was when I knew MBJ would inevitably be a star,” said another user.
The latter sentiment by far echoes some of the ones being said about Jordan’s latest roles in “Sinners,” with many remarking at how he was able to disappear as identical twins to the point to where people forgot it was the same person pulling double duty. And while some people may just now be coming around to seeing how much of a star the Newark, New Jersey native is—real fans know he’s been on the ascent since “Fruitvale.”
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