Roman J. Israel Esq. (2017)
Directed by Dan Gilroy
Written by Dan Gilroy
Starring Denzel Washington, Carmen Ejogo, Colin Farrell
Release Date November 17th, 2017
There is just something off about Roman J. Israel Esq. The pieces are all there for a good movie but something intangible is lacking. That is strange considering we are talking about a Denzel Washington movie that is part character piece and part legal thriller. These commercial and artistic elements should work well together, especially considering that Denzel Washington is one of our finest actors, but it just doesn’t come together as I am assuming it was intended.
Roman J. Israel Esq. is a lawyer in Los Angeles who doesn’t try cases. Roman has worked with his friend Carter Johnson (Amari Cheatom) for decades, having come up together as both students and civil rights activists. Their dynamic seemed perfectly suited to Roman; he was the man behind the scenes, the savant who has memorized the legal code, and Carter was the charismatic attorney better able to articulate the law in front of a judge and jury.
Together, Roman and Jackson defended the small timers, the people being rushed through a corrupt system intended to fill privatized prisons by corrupt prosecutors burnishing their win loss records for future private practice opportunities. Roman would be too disgusted and incapable to manage among such people. So, naturally, that is where the story of the movie, written and directed by Dan Gilroy, intends to send poor Roman: into the system he loathes.
When Carter has a heart attack, Roman finds himself first having to go to court, something he is ill-suited for. Then, when the practice is set to be shuttered by Carter’s family following his death, Roman is further unmoored, forced to accept a job with one of Carter’s disciples, George Pierce (Colin Ferrell), a former idealist turned high-end defense attorney as concerned with marketing and bottom lines as he is with the guilt or innocence of his clients.
Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal
