I recently rewatched this movie and was reminded how much I like it. One of those films I caught during Oscar season that didn’t get nearly enough Oscar love, this is an interesting story about an amazing historical figure that sidesteps some of the usual biopic tropes.
In 1940, Thurgood Marshall is the NAACP’s only lawyer, and they send him from state to state fighting on behalf of Black people who were unfairly arrested. When a rape case brings him to Connecticut, the obstructive judge prohibits Thurgood from trying the case, instead laying it all on Sam Friedman, a locally-based insurance lawyer who’s only there to vouch for the out-of-state Thurgood. Bristling at the unjust BS but determined that his client should still receive the fairest trial possible, Thurgood takes it upon himself to guide Sam to a not-guilty verdict from the sidelines.
Over time, I’ve come to really appreciate biopics like this, ones that don’t try to tell the whole story of an important figure’s extraordinary life and instead tell a much more focused story on one particular incident in their life. That’s what this film does. And it’s not even one of the biggest-ticket items from Thurgood Marshall’s illustrious history. This isn’t about Marshall becoming the first Black Supreme Court justice, and it’s years yet before Brown v. Board of Education. We see one case for this fierce, hungry young lawyer, and it’s not even one he’s allowed to try directly.
That’s really interesting to me. Obviously, Thurgood has to confront all kinds of racism baked into the case of his client, Joseph Spell, but some of that racism is aimed squarely at him as well. And not just the vile picket signs outside the courtroom; the judge brushes him aside as if he’s a completely-superfluous presence, acting like foisting an insurance lawyer with no experience in criminal law upon Joseph is a fair adherence to his constitutional rights. Thurgood is righteously angry on Joseph’s behalf, and he’s also a justifiably-proud man who resents being scolded in the courtroom by a judge who clearly has it in for him. But he’s ultimately a man who will do whatever his client needs him to do, so he moves heaven and earth to make it work anyway, coaching Sam like Joseph’s life depends on it. Because it does.
You’re always going to be a little wary when a film’s premise begins, “Two men, one Black and one white.” There are so many opportunities for it to go wrong, whether it turns into a White Savior narrative where the white man comes charging in to save the poor Black man or the Black man is used as a Magical Negro plot device for the white man’s growth/character journey. But Marshall is a film that gets the balance right. While it’s undoubtedly Thurgood’s film, Sam is a strong second lead, and over the course of the story, they both come to benefit from each other. I’m reminded of BlacKkKlansman in that way. Thurgood and Sam’s interactions are great throughout, and it’s neat to see where both end up compared to where they start.
Chadwick Boseman gives a terrific performance as Thurgood. He’s whip-smart, proud, and hyper-focused, not a man to be messed with and someone who fights to maintain his dignity in front of those who would try to wrench it from him. He’s ably supported by Josh Gad’s Sam, a man who’s in over his head and gotten way more than he bargained for but still trying his best, almost despite himself. Both play off of each other wonderfully, and the film additionally features good performances from Sterling K. Brown as Joseph and James Cromwell as the judge, along with Dan Stevens and Kate Hudson.
Warnings
Violence (including domestic abuse and discussion of rape,) language (including racial and anti-Semitic slurs,) sexual content, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.
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