Director: Aaron Sorkin
Writer: Aaron Sorkin (Screenplay)
Starring: Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, John Carroll Lynch, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Plot: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Trial of the Chicago 7 starts as we meet the defendants, Tom Hayden (Redmayne), Rennie Davis (Sharp), Abbie Hoffman (Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Strong), David Dellinger (Lynch), John Froines (Flaherty), Lee Weiner (Robbins) and Bobby Seal (Abdul-Mateen II) who are from different peaceful political protest, which has turned into an uprising.
Now FBI prosecutor Richard Schultz (Gordon-Levitt) is assigned to convict the eight with their lawyers William Kunstler (Rylance) and Leonard Weinglass (Skenkman), with Julius Hoffman (Langella) running the case, which slowly starts to spiral out of control.
Thoughts on The Trial of the Chicago 7
Characters – Tom Hayden and Rennie Davis are the leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society, who want to lead a peaceful, by the book protest, not for show, but to make a statement. Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin are the leaders of the militant Yippies who have the same motivations, but are willing to turn to drugs to get their message across, they are more outspoken than the rest of the group, looking to turn the trial into the circus the press would eat up, continuing press conferences through the trial. Bobby Seale is a member of the Black Panthers, who went to Chicago for speecher, he isn’t given a lawyer or even give a chance to defend himself through the trial. David Dellinger is a family man that is willing to follow these men, along with John Froines and Lee Weiner. Richard Schultz is the FBI prosecutor that hired to make conviction against the seven, it is his first major trial, he might not personally believe the men are guilty, but he is forced into trying the same case. William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass are the two lawyers defending the seven, not Bobby Seale, they finding themselves looking to fight against judge who has already made his own mind up.
Performances – This is one of the most stacked casts you will ever see in film history, each member of the cast is flawless through the movie, we could easily see this film win the best Ensembled cast award.
Story – The story here follows the trial of the Chicago 7 who have been accused of causing the Chicago riot during the Democratic National Convention, as we slowly see the events unfold through the trial, which is filled with twists and turns along the way. This is a story that plays into the courtroom drama that is brilliant to watch, filled with the serious matters, as well as having a lighter side through the case. This is a big moment in history and while we might not know the complete truth of the events, but how everything unfolds, highlights the horrors of the events. Having a large cast, we do have to see a large number of people get their side of the events, each leading to the biggest one, seeing how the seven were looking for the same outcome, with the different style of approach.
Thriller – Like most courtroom dramas, we are left on the edge of our seats watching this unfold through the film.
Settings – Most of the film is set in the courtroom, while we do see the building the case rooms and where the accused event was meant to have happened.
Scene of the Movie – Abbie takes the stand.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – We miss large parts of the trial.
Final Thoughts – The Trial of the Chicago 7 is one the most brilliant movies of the year, with an all-star cast that truly shine from the opening introduction to the final conclusion.
