Netflix is back. Last week they released Hubie Halloween, which was not a good movie, but helped raise the Halloween spirit, but this week they released another excellent movie, The Trial of the Chicago 7. It was written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, who is a very well-known director and has received much acclaim. He is known for films like Molly’s Game and The Social Network. Both films were very well received, and he did not disappoint with this one either. He was able to tell a serious story and add moments of laughter as well without taking away from the story and message. The team of actors fit very well together, and they drew out a variety of emotions, and although this movie was mainly focused on the late 1960s and the riot that occurred at the democratic national convention, the message can still be traced to the modern day, and the injustices that this country has faced.
The story was not in a straight chronological order, but the way it was done worked well. They started out with a montage introducing the time period. It showed the draft for Vietnam, Martin Luther King being assassinated, the Vietnam War, and it introduced the viewer to the different organizations and their leaders that ended up on trial. It did not initially show what occurred at the Democratic National Convention, but it skipped straight to the prosecution lawyer being briefed on the case that was about to occur, then the trial started. As the trial progressed, the movie went back and forth on the timeline to show what happened at the convention as parts of it were discussed in court. The movie ends with a verdict being given, and like all movies based on a true story, writing at the end telling what happened to each character, and whether the problem was truly resolved.
The theme of the movie revolved around injustice, specifically the injustice that occurs within our own country. The movie specifically commented on the injustice during the Vietnam War, but it can be applied to more situations than just Vietnam. When the trial first started, there were eight men being charged with conspiracy and inciting a riot. One of those men was a black man that was a member of the Black Panther Party, but he had little to nothing to do with the rest of the men. Also he was not given adequate representation. He had a lawyer that was supposed to represent him, but was initially indisposed due to a medical reason, but then he was killed. The judge refused to care that the black man was not being represented by a lawyer, and the judge would not let the black man represent himself. This was very blatant injustice occurring in front of the national eye, and it even went so far that after being called into contempt of court multiple times, the man was gagged and returned to the court room, where the prosecutor was so appalled he called for a mistrial for the man, which succeeded.
This went past injustice solely based on race as well. It extended to showing government corruption. Once the seven main men were on trial, it became clear that they were mainly being charged to be set as an example to other protesters. The government clearly did not appreciate all these protesters exclaiming that the government was costing thousands upon thousands of American lives by drafting them and sending them to Vietnam. So even though the previous presidential administration had found the riots in Chicago to be mainly caused by the actions of the police, the new administration went after these men to show that the actions of the protesters showing a lack of faith in the government would not be allowed. This attacks the first amendment rights we all have, the right to protest freely.
The movie does do an excellent job of not solely portraying the protagonists as good guys. There were several times in the movie where it showed that the seven had moments that could have been borderline to inciting a riot, but at the end of the day, it was the police and others against the protest that truly provoked the violence. There would not be much of a reason as to why a group of unarmed men and women would try to take on fully armed police. It showed actual footage of people being beat by the police, which was a powerful addition. One of the main quotes throughout the movie was that, “The whole world is watching.” As the United States, we often look upon ourselves as world leaders, that other countries should follow in our footsteps, but there have been many instances when it comes to the rights of Americans where the United States has failed and the bias of the U.S has been shown, this being one instance. If the United States is truly a country to be modeled after, it seems like the U.S should not have so many issues with freedoms of the people that live here, and there are still problems persisting to this day that need to be resolved, that other democratic countries are not dealing with.
Although the injustice in this movie initially came from a higher power, the place where it was seen the most throughout the film came from the judge. He clearly had a bias, which judges are not supposed to have. Time and again he ruled against the defense in a copious amount of ways that would have helped them win the trial. This came in the form of not allowing on of their key witnesses to be heard by the jury, and it also occurred in the injustice he gave towards the member of the Black Panther Party. The judge even removed two of the jurors that early in the trial seemed to favor the defendants over the prosecutors. One of the most damning pieces of evidence against the judge came at the end of the movie when it said that 87 percent of trial lawyers gave the judge an unqualified rating.
The cast in this film did an excellent job. There were the seven main guys on trial, that came from three diverse groups, that all had the agenda of trying to end the war and unnecessary death of young Americans in Vietnam. The two Yuppies in the movie were able to provide a constant flow of comedy to add some brevity to the seriousness of the film. The other members on trial, specifically Tom Hayden, gave a more serious performance throughout the movie, he came across as the brains behind the whole protest, and the most well read of the group. Him and the Yuppies, although on the same side had a few clashes that added to the story. The head lawyer on the prosecution side, Richard Shultz, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, also gave a stellar performance. Typically, Levitt plays a character that the audience wants to root for, but this time as the prosecution, he represented more of an antagonist, but he was not static. There were multiple moments throughout the movie where he showed he was not just a government shill, he had a moral compass, and he was not afraid to follow it, even with disapproval from his superiors. Levitt’s character was the one who raised the idea of giving the Black Panther member a mistrial.
This movie has replaced Palm Springs at the top spot for 2020 movies. Palm Springs was incredibly entertaining and well done, but it did not have much of a message. Trial of the Chicago 7 was also very entertaining, and where it beats Palm Springs is that it had an excellent message that not only told the story of the protests at the Democratic National Convention and the injustice at that time, but it also gave a message that can be applied to the injustices we are still facing as a country today. I gave the movie a 90, and I would highly recommend everyone to watch it. It is well worth the two hours, and it entertains for the whole time. Although much of the movie takes place within a court room, it was almost impossible to look away, and the scenes outside of the court room were even better. Everything in this movie gels well together from the cast to the message to the way it was cut, so far nothing else I have watched this year has held up to this film. Thank you, Netflix, for stepping it up during this trying time.
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