2019 | Drama
136 mins United States
Based-on-fact courtroom drama. Civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson (Michael B Jordan) comes across he case of a condemned man (Jamie Foxx) who strongly appears to have been framed, and sets about winning justice for his client.
| Produced by | Warner Bros. |
| Director | Destin Daniel Cretton |
| Writer | Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham |
| Cast | Brie Larson, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Rafe Spall and Tim Blake Nelson |
Main Image Courtesy: Warner Bros..
Background Image Courtesy: Warner Bros..
Images And Data Courtesy Of: Warner Bros..
This content (including text, images, videos and other media) is published and used in accordance
with Fair Use.
| 9-10 |  |
|
57.1% (4) |
| 7-8 |  |
|
42.9% (3) |
| 5-6 |  |
|
0.0% (0) |
| 3-4 |  |
|
0.0% (0) |
| 1-2 |  |
|
0.0% (0) |
From seeing the trailer, Just Mercy is exactly the film you'd expect it to be. Which in a way was a tad disappointing, but as it's a true story, it would have been a surprise if it had turned out differently. The performances are very good, Michael B Jordan admittedly using the same facial expressions in most scenes but still a good turn. Jamie Foxx excels as you'd expect him to, it's just a shame he's not on screen as much as you'd like and Brie Larson is underused too. There's a lot of feels in this film too, I'd dare anyone not to be welling up by the end and it's also telling a true story that is important and meaningful, yet slightly worrying that this sort of injustice and racism was still happening in the early 90s!
The problem I think is that whilst this is a good film, it is your typical Oscar fodder. Which is odd considering it's lack of nominations. Films like this are far too common nowadays and there wasn't anything in this that made it stand out. But despite this it's still good and worth a watch for the story alone.
Jordan plays young lawyer Bryan Stevenson who moves to Alabama to fight for justice for death row convicts. Among many cases he meets Jonny D (Foxx), who initially refuses to fight any more despite the paper-thin conviction he received. Persuaded, the pair start their fight against the system, met time and time again with prejudice, injustice and an unfair system that is unwilling to review past cases.
The irony of this unfolding in the town that is so proud to have been where Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, the story of a black man facing an unfair trial accused of crime against a young white female, was not lost on me. This wasn't made much of in the film, I would guess out of respect for the family of the actual murder victim here, and not wanting to suggest a parallel with the false crime in the book.
The film does well to portray the racial injustice, unbalanced legal system and prejudice experienced by the authorities and smalltown America, but not overdo it. This leaves the viewer to mull it on their own, which is especially important to do in the current climate.
An excellent film that gets the balance right between story, faithfulness to the facts and sewing thoughts and parallels with modern day life.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated
Jan 30, 2020 (Updated Jan 31, 2020)
It is a powerful movie, a emotional movie, a film that will make you cry, a overall excellent and phenomenal movie.
The Plot: After graduating from Harvard, Bryan Stevenson heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or those not afforded proper representation. One of his first cases is that of Walter McMillian, who is sentenced to die in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite evidence proving his innocence. In the years that follow, Stevenson encounters racism and legal and political maneuverings as he tirelessly fights for McMillian's life.
Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson and Tim Blake Nelson are all excellent and shouls have been nominated.
If you havent watched or heard about this film than go look it up and see it, cause it will make you cry.
