We do not get many legal movies as much right now compared to the 1990s and early 2000s. I mean, there were some great, good and some rather pedestrian legal dramas. Maybe, it is because almost all of the legal/courtroom thrillers end in the same way but the movie is really about the journey and the case. Also, movies in the 90s were being adapted from novels written by John Grisham: The Pelican Brief, The Firm, A Time to Kill and The Rainmaker. However, this movie was different as it is about a lawyer wanting to do the right thing by doing pro bono work and "not work for the ungrateful". It has a positive and uplifting spin to an old-fashioned genre but somehow the movie starts to lose heart and conviction as the character loses heart as suspense starts to increase towards the end.
Roman J. Israel (Denzel Washington) is an attorney working at his desk in a legal office as he gets a call from his secretary that his law partner had a heart attack, persuading him to work on all the cases. But, his secretary suggests to Roman that he should give continuances due to the health emergency. But, Roman does not listen as he goes to court and lobbying by lowering the charges for prosecution. He also gets into an argument with the judge that resulted in him getting a $5,000 fine.
Roman was very active in the civil rights era in the 60s and his law firm was very instrumental as well and it's noticeable as helps a homeless man off the street by putting a business card in his pocket as the police are taking him away. A woman named Maya (Carmen Ejogo) is impressed as she invited him earlier into a session of giving protestors legal advice. Another attorney, George Pierce (Colin Farell) offers Roman a job after finding out that he has numerous clients over the years that want his help. But when he gets the job, Roman has gotten himself with a situation in which a man has been accused of murder according to a young man which leads to a potential $100,000 reward for information. However, there are risks as the deal will threaten both Roman's career and life.
There are two kinds of movies in this that is executed well but the other plot is executed poorly. The character of Roman J. Israel is inspiring because he wants to help people and not help the corrupt or the greedy. There is a nice story underneath between the Roman and Maya chemistry that unfortunately does not go anywhere. Now, with the other story involving the murder case, it tonally becomes awkward because of its poor execution then it becomes self-indulgent as he improves his image. Also, even though the costume design and physical appearance is noticeable, the character development set-up takes too long because the "thriller" plot becomes rushed as there are scenes missing or needed some re-organization.
Denzel Washington's performance is good, not one of his best, though, because at times, even though I root for his character in some of the movie, he does get annoying with all the clothes as he is trapped in the times of the 60s and 70s in a present time. It is too obvious and a bit distracting as the character's appearance is over-the-top. Two characters are underwritten with Carmen Ejogo giving a very nice performance and Colin Farell in a really strong role but there are not many scenes in which I actually remember the character as he wants to help Roman with his case.
I was mostly disappointed because it was directed by Dan Gilroy, the man who gave us one of the best movies of 2014, Nightcrawler, with an excellent performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, who should have gotten nominated that year. I do like its setting that this whole movie is taken place in Los Angeles making a very mysterious and maybe deceiving location in where the character is going, however, the tonal shift to its thriller ruins it as the conclusion of the plot is predictable. But, by not giving it away, the end felt like it was not completely finished. There is promise to its story, setting, message and characters in the first half, however, the movie lets go by giving us a convoluted thriller that felt a bit sloppy. And, that is unfortunate because I wanted to like this movie for its message.
**
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