2020 has been a weird year. Obviously, that's an understatement and the changes go far beyond movies and TV. That's sort of my thing here though, so that's my focus. I have no idea how this Oscar season will play out. Few films are getting traditional releases. Many are getting delayed until next year's Oscar season. The Oscar eligibility window even goes later than normal. It certainly feels like a year for the tiny indie movies that critics champion every year to get more seats at the table. What's also strange is that Netflix is the only company in town acting like everything is normal. They were already largely skipping theatrical releases for their movies. They had their films lined up and completed months before Covid caused everything to go haywire. OK, it's not quite that simple. This movie too was hit by Covid. The Trial of the Chicago 7 was set to be a Paramount release this Fall and Netflix negotiated for it once it became clear a theatrical release wasn't happening. Still, it's October, and Netflix is coming out with the first film in what looks like a traditional, aggressive Oscar slate. They are perhaps the only company with a set of releases like this.
Even in a normal year, The Trial of the Chicago 7 would be an Oscar movie. In an election year, it's political but with just enough distance to look like it wasn't targeted at anyone now. The case is large and varied (you know, except for women), with a mix of Oscar winners, up-and-comers, actors playing against type, and TV actors trying to make a splash. Aaron Sorkin already has shelves full of trophies for his work, including an Oscar. In a year with so many norms flying out the window, it feels odd to say this, but I think The Trial of the Chicago 7 is the most viable Oscar frontrunner out there so far.
This is an incredibly watchable movie in the way so many screenplays from Aaron Sorkin are. It's got that same playfulness and seriousness that make The American President, A Few Good Men, and The West Wing re-runs to easy to rewatch. It has the clever, rapid fire dialogue that he's famous for*. It's idealistic but in a way that isn't as insufferable as more recent attempts of his (cough - The Newsroom - cough). It's really best to leave Sorkin as far away from computers and the internet as possible, so a period piece is a good idea. You can choose to relate the similarities between this summer's protests/riots to the 1968 Democratic presidential convention riots/protests as little or as much as you want while watching this. This really is just plain a crowd-pleaser. Sorkin gets courtroom drama.
*People have already made supercuts of some common Sorkin phrases he uses in this movie.
I could ask 10 people who the best person in the cast of this movie is and get 10 different answers. Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden is the closest thing to a lead. He represents the youth movement trying to bring changes by working with the establishment. Redmayne is known for his roles that ask him to take big character swings. It's nice to see him do something tame. Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman is probably my favorite in the movie. He keeps up a decades-old trend of being great when he's in something where he's only an actor (not a writer). He's been inching toward a real Oscar campaign for years, and it seems likely that it will pay off now with how he shows off both the rebellious and thoughtful side of Hoffman. Jeremy Strong really commits to playing eternally hazy Jerry Rubin. It leans right into playing for laughs but stops just short of making it all a joke. Yahaya Abdul-Mateen II does a great job with the frustrating treatment of Bobby Seale in the trial. Mark Rylance, as the attorney the Chicago Seven is part great-lawyer, part-rebel as well. Frank Langella as Judge Julius Hoffman gives the kind of infuriating performance that's so effective, that too many people will dislike the character to appreciate the work he's doing. There are a lot of other people too. Pretty much all of them are used effectively.
It's true, there aren't many women in the movie. It's hard to criticize the movie for that though. All the defendants, lawyers, prosecutors, and judge in the actual case were men. That alone is a lot of characters to juggle. As nice as it would be for Caitlin FitzGerald or Alice Kremelberg to have more to do, it's understandable that anything with them would be the first thing on the cutting room floor.
Aaron Sorkin isn't the greatest director around. He doesn't do anything fancy with how the film is shot. He doesn't ask much from the cinematography. The movie could be converted into a stage-play pretty easily. That's not a criticism. The directing is satisfactory and doesn't get in the way of the story, screenplay, and performances. Perhaps a different director would've made the film a little more interesting, but it's still quite good as is.
Verdict: Strongly Recommend
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