The Trial of the Chicago 7 (B or 3/4 stars)
In the wake of the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, & stresses from the Vietnam War, Chicago in the summer of '68 was rife with protests in Aaron Sorkin's politically-charged 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'. One year after bloody riots broke out near the Democratic National Convention, a trial begins where the defendants are charged with that rioting as well as conspiracy during their anti-war protests. The defendants include clean-cut Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) & Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), mild-mannered leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society; Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) & Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), hippy leaders of the Youth International Party; David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch), leader of the Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam; anti-war activists John Froines & Lee Weiner; and Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Chairman of the Black Panthers -- he wasn't even at the riots.
Representing all of them except for Bobby - whose lawyer can't attend the proceedings, meaning Fred Hampton (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) must whisper legal advice to him from behind - are lawyers William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) & Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shenkman); who believe the charges are politically-motivated. Representing the U.S. government under Nixon's new administration is federal prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has been sent there by the current U.S. Attorney General to make sure that these guys are convicted despite his predecessor under a different administration, Ramsey Clark (Michael Keaton), having previously concluded that the charges were not merited. Overseeing the proceedings is unscrupulous Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella), whose mental faculties are in question, although his actions CLEARLY show what he believes the outcome of the trial SHOULD be {grrr}. As that plays out over several months, the defendants waver btwn. bickering among each other to showing complete solidarity, all while Kunstler tries desperately to figure out how to deal with an unfit judge + actions by Schultz to try to put these men in prison. Drama ensues.
This is what I call a solid meat-&-potatoes movie. It sticks to the ribs. Dads will love it. It does everything well, though, I wouldn't call it exceptional in any way. 'TTotC7' is an eloquent film with a stellar cast that paints 1960s-era anti-war activists as flawed heroes up against a corrupt bureaucracy. And you'd really expect nothing less from Aaron Sorkin; creator of the great politically-progressive The West Wing. His focus here is on the heinous trial rather than the bloodbath riots of '68, which we don't see anything of until the 45 min. mark in the film. Instead, Sorkin allows his actors to shine with his typically fast-paced, intellectual verbal sparring. The real-life characters are depicted as whip-smart, passionate & committed, with no fear of authority.
Most of the dialogue zingers belong to Abbie Hoffman, so ably performed by Sacha Baron Cohen; his comedic timing is on point. Eddie Redmayne is solid as calm, cool, collected Tom Hayden; good American accent, as well. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is powerful as Black Panthers' Bobby Seale -- interesting to see Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s portrayal of Fred Hampton as compared to Daniel Kaluuya's volcanic portrayal of the same man in 2020's Judas & the Black Messiah. Mark Rylance & Frank Langella offer up some explosive courtroom exchanges. Michael Keaton excels in a small, but pivotal role as Ramsey Clark. His courtroom sequence is arguably one of the best in the movie. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quietly effective as the prosecutor.
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael gives the film a stately cinematic sheen. Editor Alan Baumgarten keeps the movie flowing; intercutting filmed riot sequences with actual 1968 footage. From top to bottom, 'TtOTc7' feels accomplished. Many people will be fired up while watching it, & afterwards. But for some reason, I wasn't as fired-up. It is dense with rapid fire, too-cool-for-school dialogue that sometimes took me out of the movie. I also feel like Sorkin embellished some of the characters & storytelling to make it more dramatic & politically motivated. There's an ever-so-slight air of phoniness and even smugness to the proceedings. Not a great piece of cinema, for my money -- but a timely movie that not only looks back at a tumultuous period in our history, but foreshadows what is going on in 2020 America. Racial & political unrest is as fervent as ever ... "the whole world is watching!"
Representing all of them except for Bobby - whose lawyer can't attend the proceedings, meaning Fred Hampton (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) must whisper legal advice to him from behind - are lawyers William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) & Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shenkman); who believe the charges are politically-motivated. Representing the U.S. government under Nixon's new administration is federal prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has been sent there by the current U.S. Attorney General to make sure that these guys are convicted despite his predecessor under a different administration, Ramsey Clark (Michael Keaton), having previously concluded that the charges were not merited. Overseeing the proceedings is unscrupulous Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella), whose mental faculties are in question, although his actions CLEARLY show what he believes the outcome of the trial SHOULD be {grrr}. As that plays out over several months, the defendants waver btwn. bickering among each other to showing complete solidarity, all while Kunstler tries desperately to figure out how to deal with an unfit judge + actions by Schultz to try to put these men in prison. Drama ensues.
This is what I call a solid meat-&-potatoes movie. It sticks to the ribs. Dads will love it. It does everything well, though, I wouldn't call it exceptional in any way. 'TTotC7' is an eloquent film with a stellar cast that paints 1960s-era anti-war activists as flawed heroes up against a corrupt bureaucracy. And you'd really expect nothing less from Aaron Sorkin; creator of the great politically-progressive The West Wing. His focus here is on the heinous trial rather than the bloodbath riots of '68, which we don't see anything of until the 45 min. mark in the film. Instead, Sorkin allows his actors to shine with his typically fast-paced, intellectual verbal sparring. The real-life characters are depicted as whip-smart, passionate & committed, with no fear of authority.
Most of the dialogue zingers belong to Abbie Hoffman, so ably performed by Sacha Baron Cohen; his comedic timing is on point. Eddie Redmayne is solid as calm, cool, collected Tom Hayden; good American accent, as well. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is powerful as Black Panthers' Bobby Seale -- interesting to see Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s portrayal of Fred Hampton as compared to Daniel Kaluuya's volcanic portrayal of the same man in 2020's Judas & the Black Messiah. Mark Rylance & Frank Langella offer up some explosive courtroom exchanges. Michael Keaton excels in a small, but pivotal role as Ramsey Clark. His courtroom sequence is arguably one of the best in the movie. And Joseph Gordon-Levitt is quietly effective as the prosecutor.
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael gives the film a stately cinematic sheen. Editor Alan Baumgarten keeps the movie flowing; intercutting filmed riot sequences with actual 1968 footage. From top to bottom, 'TtOTc7' feels accomplished. Many people will be fired up while watching it, & afterwards. But for some reason, I wasn't as fired-up. It is dense with rapid fire, too-cool-for-school dialogue that sometimes took me out of the movie. I also feel like Sorkin embellished some of the characters & storytelling to make it more dramatic & politically motivated. There's an ever-so-slight air of phoniness and even smugness to the proceedings. Not a great piece of cinema, for my money -- but a timely movie that not only looks back at a tumultuous period in our history, but foreshadows what is going on in 2020 America. Racial & political unrest is as fervent as ever ... "the whole world is watching!"