Director: Reginald Hudlin
Writer: Jacob Koskoff, Michael Koskoff (Screenplay)
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Sterling K Brown, Dan Stevens, James Cromwell
Plot: About a young Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.
Tagline – Live Hard. Fight Harder.
Runtime: 1 Hour 58 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Enjoyable Insightful Biopic
Story: Marshall starts as we learn about Thurgood Marshall (Boseman) a lawyer that works on prevent African-Americans from facing unfair trials, now for his latest case Marshall gets a case of Joseph Spell (Brown) accused of raping a white woman. Marshall must assist Sam Friedman (Gad) in the trial which shows strange occurrences that don’t make sense for a typical trial.
While Marshall is forbidden from taking the case by Judge Foster (Cromwell), Marshall must guide Sam through the case because he lacks the experience as they go against hot shot lawyer Loren Willis (Stevens) family friend of the judge. Can the two put aside their differences to win the case for Joseph or will he face life in prison.
Thoughts on Marshall
Characters – The characters are based on real people involve in and around the case. Thurgood Marshall is a black lawyer that has been travelling around America to defend African-Americans from unfair trials, he has reached the supreme court level in cases before, which is why he has taken this case. This case is unlike anything that he has taken on before, against the odds to prove the innocence. Sam Friedman is small insurance lawyer that Marshall recruits to lead the trial because they won’t allow a man of colour to be a lawyer. His inexperience could cost them the case, but learning as he goes through the trial will help him learn. Eleanor Strubing is the woman that claims to have been raped by Joseph, she comes from a wealthy family and her story is convincing. Joseph is the man accused of raping Eleanor, he doesn’t have much of a chance in a court of law and only Marshall can give him the hope. Loren Willis the opposition lawyer, he comes from a good family that has supported him his whole life, while being friends with the judge too. Judge Foster is taking the case, he does his best to favour one side, but can he keep the law intact while the case unfolds.
Performances – Chadwick Boseman is Mr biopic, this is his 4th one in his early career, he once again showed his talent as one of the best stars in the business, showing the skills needed for roles like this. Josh Gad has had a fantastic year in 2017, he has shown his range as an actor where he shines in this role. Kate Hudson continues her movement away from rom coms with another performance in a drama that shows the skills she has. Sterling K Brown, Dan Stevens and James Cromwell round off the cast here and all give great supporting performance through the film.
Story – The story follows lawyer Thurgood Marshall a man that stood up for the fellow African-Americans that don’t get fair trials during the time when America was still riddle with racial discrimination. This is just one of his many cases he took, this is told through the trial unfolding, which does keep us on the edge of the seat wondering what will come from the case next, just like the best of the courtroom drama, which is something it needs to be. The film doesn’t get into a big racial battle outside of the courtroom which other films have done in the past, this helps because we don’t need to have this forced into the story either.
Biopic – Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American supreme court justice, this shows us one of his career-defining cases, the helps understand his ability, while it would have been nice to see the biggest case he was the lead lawyer on.
Settings – The film is mostly set in the courtroom, which is a location we love to see the tension filled moments in any movie, we do have other scenes which show the moments the film gets to with the planning the defence.
Scene of the Movie – Joseph on the stand.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – This is a pretty much cut and dry style of case for a film, it would have been nice to see a more challenging one for him to take on.
Final Thoughts – This is another brilliant addition to the courtroom drama genre which keeps us on the edge from the opening moments to the end of the film. it also shows us how one man was trying to make a difference when others weren’t given the chance too.
Overall: Wonderful courtroom drama
Rating
