Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a film about an idealistic lawyer who finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place. He doesn't really know how to speak to people and he doesn't play the game of bartering with other lawyers when it comes to plea deals.

Dan Gilroy wrote and directed this film. The same man who did Nightcrawler, which was great. He adds so many subtle things in the movie that you don't really pick up on till later. Symbolism runs high in this film and it's not always easy to see. I enjoyed that the more I thought about the film the more I realized.

Denzel Washington plays the main character Roman who is socially awkward. Everyone has a friend, or has met someone like him and so you immediately have a sense of understanding if not sympathy. There were only a few scenes where he turned it off and I got a sense of Denzel but for the most part he's Roman through and through.

Colin Farrell is a hit or miss actor for me. He was great in Saving Mr. Banks, and okay in Fantastic Beasts, horrible in Fright Night. In Bruges is a really underappreciated film and he did great in that. Farrell plays another, younger, lawyer who is more about greed and competition than he is about doing the right thing. He has a small character arc but played the part perfectly.

Just look at the poster. Why is he facing the wrong way? Think about that for a while or maybe it'll click with you immediately.

Result A (I wouldn't watch it again, but I can't recommend it highly enough)

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