By: Alec Concejero
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a gripping film that will have fans of classic courtroom dramas like 12 Angry Men wanting more. Here is SEA Wave’s High Five review of Netflix’s latest awards contender.
New perspectives
Aaron Sorkin’s new Netflix production is the fourth filmed dramatization of the 1969 prosecution of Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Lee Weiner, and John Froines, who faced federal charges of conspiracy and incitement of the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
For each iteration, the directors have different perspectives of what the trial was meant to symbolize. All throughout the film, the characters are portrayed to describe their trial as a “political trial”. From the get-go, the film starts at an incredibly fast pace, depicting different scenes from the ’60s particularly events surrounding the Vietnam war. It was arguably, too fast, and if you’re not an American with knowledge of American history and this momentous trial, you might feel at a loss for the events and occurrences that led to the trial of 7 protest leaders.
Wastes no time
Sorkin wastes no time throwing viewers into the chaos of 1968, introducing viewers to the key players in what would become known as the trial of the Chicago 7 as they plan their trip to the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois, which was then a police state, to protest the Vietnam War during the Democratic National Convention. Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) encourage peaceful protests with student groups in order to put an emphasis on the young lives being lost in an unjust war, including the murder of Vietnamese civilians. Yippies Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) have a more chaotic approach to protest, arguing that dismantling the system only happens when it’s disrupted first. David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) is a family man and upstanding citizen who assures his wife and son that nothing dangerous will happen in Chicago, as Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) promises he too will be in and out of Chicago just to give a speech without much fanfare. All of them were wrong in what they thought the outcome would be.
Powerhouse cast
Sorkin starts his film 5 months later, with an angry Attorney General John Mitchell (John Doman) tasking Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Thomas Foran (J.C. MacKenzie) with the case of their lives, trying the men he believes were responsible for the unrest, under the charge of inciting the riots that took place. The power has shifted from President Lyndon Baines Johnson and previous Attorney General Ramsey Clark (Michael Keaton) to Nixon and Mitchell, and they want to use Hoffman, Hayden, and the rest as examples of what will happen to those who protest the war. Mark Rylance plays William Kunstler, the main attorney for the seven, and Frank Langella is phenomenal as Judge Julius Hoffman, a man who teeters on that dangerous edge between incompetent and evil. Clearly, this is a powerhouse cast, and they all relish the opportunity to chew on Sorkin’s timely and provocative fast-paced language. A licensed chemist would enjoy the obscene amounts of chemistry between all the characters, one can almost feel the bond portrayed on the big screen.
Frenetic pace
The story’s fast pace keeps viewers engaged and wanting more, the dialogue is curated to perfection and the flashbacks to scenes of the riots keep the audience hooked with action and curiosity to the unfolding of the events. Flashes of video and pictures taken from the actual riots make it more captivating and pay homage to the actual events that transpired.
On the other hand, if your knowledge of the trial is deep, you would know that the real sentencing statements, dramatized in previous film adaptations of the incident, included this line from Rennie Davis to Judge Hoffman that was actually said: “You represent all that is old, ugly, bigoted, and repressive in this country, and I will tell you that the spirit of this defense table will devour your sickness in the next generation.” It’s the most Sorkin-esque dialogue in the transcript, yet Sorkin’s decision to exclude it is downright baffling and one of the pitfalls of the film. Dramatic license is good and well, but if there’s a lesson to be learned here, it’s that sometimes you simply cannot improve upon history.
Verdict
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a movie worth watching and easily accessible on Netflix. As someone who is not particularly fond of the quality and execution of Netflix Original movies, this would definitely be a mighty exception. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the screen for one moment so as not to miss any crucial details or dialogue.
With this, I rate The Trial of Chicago 7 a 4 waves out of 5.