Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Roman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action. Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended when a turbulent series of events challenge the activism that has defined his career. Colin Farrell costars as the ambitious, monied lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.

Rating: PG-13 (for language and some violence)

Genre: Drama

Directed By: Dan Gilroy

Written By: Dan Gilroy

In Theaters: Nov 22, 2017 Wide

On Disc/Streaming: Feb 13, 2018

Box Office: $11,887,893

Runtime: 117 minutes

Studio: Sony Pictures

It's a credit to Washington's rock solid performance that we care as much as we do. Roman J. Israel, Esq. has pockets of intrigue, and writer-director Gilroy and Washington have teamed up to create a promising dramatic character. We just never get full delivery on that promise. The story is surprisingly unfocused and, when it snaps out of the protracted setup phase, it plunges into quasi-thriller territory that relies on a series of hard-to-swallow contrivances. Part character study, part legal thriller and part morality tale about means manifesting their own ends, "Roman J. Israel, Esq." winds up being just as eccentric and unpredictable as its doggedly honorable, and far from perfect, leading man.

The film never quite recovers from its abrupt handbrake turn on Roman's moral character. It makes zero dramatic sense for an already marginalised character to justify the world's marginalisation of him. Roman J Israel, Esq is a rambling mess of a film that sees Denzel Washington playing a former civil-rights activist who, perhaps held back by his autistic tendencies or poor wardrobe choices. The fact that this film can at least maintain some sort of interest throughout is only a testament to how great an actor Denzel Washington is. The story is clumsy, the directing is okay, and the supporting performances are forgettable, but Denzel is superb. I feel weird saying a below average movie deserves an Academy Award, but the way Washington carries this film, he absolutely deserves the statue for Best Actor. Otherwise, there is no reason to watch this one.

I would give the movie a 2/5 because its too boring as a whole. #Moviereview #Vigalcollective #blogging