Though civil-rights drama Selma is nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars later this month, there's a palpable sense of injustice concerning Paramount's movie - which, for a short while, was considered a serious contender to defeat Boyhood at the biggest night on the movie calendar.

SelmaDavid Oyelowo was snubbed for the Academy despite turning in one of the finest performances of the year

Since there, it's been plagued by bad publicity over inaccuracies, the snubbing of director Ava DuVernay by the DGA and David Oyelowo's absence from the category of Best Actor at the Academy Awards. The first is contested, the second, curious, the third: a downright scandal. Michael Keaton probably deserves to crowned for the year's best performance and Eddie Redmyane deserves his nomination - no doubt - though to suggest Oyelowo's turn as Dr Martin Luther King was outdone by Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), Bradley Cooper (American Sniper) or Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) is at best an embarrassing oversight and at worst, a conspiracy.

More: read our full review of Selma

 Selma - out in the UK this weekend - chronicles the tumultuous three month period in 1965 when King led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition.

Oyelowo's performance has been roundly praised by critics and audiences alike.

"In Selma, British actor David Oyelowo subtly transmogrifies himself into Martin Luther King Jr, displaying intelligent self-doubt, not flash political pomp," said Kate Muir of The Times.

More: So how inaccurate is Selma exactly?

"Oyelowo is sensational in Selma. He makes you believe, body and soul, heart and mind, in his performance as Martin Luther King," wrote Allan Hunter of the Daily Express. 

"It is beyond baffling why British actor David Oyelowo has not been nominated for either a BAFTA or an Oscar for his exceptional lead performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in new drama, Selma," said Brian Henry Martin of UTV.