By all
accounts, this film was a flop. It didn’t
recoup its budget at the box office, the reviews were middling, and plenty of
people will characterize it as Denzel Washington doing good work in a bad
movie. But while this film doesn’t match
up to some of the other Oscar movies I’ve seen this season, my opinion of it
wasn’t that lackluster.
The
titular Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a dedicated criminal defense lawyer with a
background in civil rights. His social
skills leave a lot to be desired, but what he lacks in poise he makes up for in
staggering knowledge and a fierce devotion to justice. When the firm where he works has to close up
shop due to his partner’s sudden health emergency, Roman is reluctantly
snatched up by George, a suave legal shark who sees clients as easy cash
grabs. Roman struggles against the
fast-moving current of amoral complacency at his new firm, but the harder he
fights, the more he wonders if it’s really worth it.
I’ll cop
that it’s not a great movie, and maybe it doesn’t quite accomplish what it sets
out to do, but it’s an interesting movie that explores some worthwhile themes
about the relationship between activism and law in social justice, the overuse
of plea deals in the legal defense system, and the ethical hardship of pouring
one’s life into a worthy goal that never seems to grow any closer. The film sets up good questions, but the way
it goes about examing them can sometimes feel too on-the-nose or surfacy.
We’re
here because of Denzel Washington’s nominated lead-actor performance as Roman,
so let’s get right to it. Roman’s an intriguing
character – he’s intelligent, principled, and can do tremendous work for his clients, but he often approaches
matters both awkwardly and with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, and in an
environment where everyone is as slick as they are conniving, Roman’s blunt
edges stick out sharply. Washington
really captures the discomfort that Roman brings to any room – it’s almost like
anti-charisma, which, for a movie star of his renown, takes definite talent.
But while
Washington is obviously the main attraction here, he’s not the only cast member
of note. Colin Farrell turns in a
reliable performance as George – he’s good at playing charming but disingenuous,
so that’s of course what we see when George enters the scene, although there
winds up being more going on within that.
The film also features Carmen Ejogo, who brings nice presence to Maya,
an activist Roman encounters. Ejogo does
a fine job with the role, but I also mention her because I know her best as
Madam Picquery in Fantastic Beasts and
Where to Find Them. Although she and
Farrell only share one scene, the mini Fantastic
Beasts reunion still makes me smile.
Warnings
Brief
violence, language, drinking, and thematic elements.
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