Just Mercy. (15.)
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, O'Shea Jackson Jr and Tim Blake Nelson. 139 mins.
Did somebody say Just Mercy? Now there would be an app worth downloading. This film offers a reasonable substitute though: a good old fashioned tale of a decent lawyer trying to correct a miscarriage of justice, and prevent an innocent black man going to the electric chair. And if you want a good old fashioned tale of racial discrimination and corrupt law enforcement, 90s Alabama is just the place. It has all the aspects of a period drama set in the deep south, but in a contemporary setting.
Jordan is the decent lawyer, fresh out of Harvard and off down south to set up the Equal Justice Initiative; Foxx is the almost absurdly innocent man framed for the murder of a white teenage girl, despite having a cast-iron alibi. For Jordan this is his giving-something-back role after becoming a superhero star. He is a strong screen presence but can be a bit too upstanding and righteous at times. Foxx though is tremendous, offering complexity and depth. Cretton's film doesn't do anything new with the genre but it's delivered with restraint and is very effective.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rafe Spall, O'Shea Jackson Jr and Tim Blake Nelson. 139 mins.
Did somebody say Just Mercy? Now there would be an app worth downloading. This film offers a reasonable substitute though: a good old fashioned tale of a decent lawyer trying to correct a miscarriage of justice, and prevent an innocent black man going to the electric chair. And if you want a good old fashioned tale of racial discrimination and corrupt law enforcement, 90s Alabama is just the place. It has all the aspects of a period drama set in the deep south, but in a contemporary setting.
Jordan is the decent lawyer, fresh out of Harvard and off down south to set up the Equal Justice Initiative; Foxx is the almost absurdly innocent man framed for the murder of a white teenage girl, despite having a cast-iron alibi. For Jordan this is his giving-something-back role after becoming a superhero star. He is a strong screen presence but can be a bit too upstanding and righteous at times. Foxx though is tremendous, offering complexity and depth. Cretton's film doesn't do anything new with the genre but it's delivered with restraint and is very effective.
