In America in the 1940s young layer Thurgood Marshall travels across the country defending innocent African-Americans from the unjust and very biased courts. The case in Connecticut sees him work with Sam Friedman to defend Joseph Spell who has been accused of raping a wealthy white woman.
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Thurgood Marshall would go on to become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice but this film looks at one of the big cases during his early career and making everyone take notice that everything is not always as it seems. Just because a black man is accused of something it does not mean he is guilty at all.
The case of Joseph Spell turns out to be a lot more complicated than he first admitted to both Thurgood and Sam Friedman, the two men that were defending him and preventing him being sentenced to death or life in prison. Eleanor Strubing the woman accusing him of raping and then throwing her into the water is very wealthy and a society woman who had also been educated to college/university level.
I really do enjoy a good courtroom drama and this certainly ticks all of the boxes and is one of those films. I do find it a little bit disappointing that I don't remember this film having a big cinema release or hearing much about it, that is because it is a fantastic film for many different reasons. The drama that is surrounding the court case and knowing it is based on a true story is heartbreaking to watch at times. How could they ever find a fair jury for a black man and this type of accusation?
Thurgood Marshall was not allowed to speak in court and everything had to be done by Sam Friedman who was not used to this type of case and being a defence lawyer. He was pushed to the limits, beaten up and threatened for his involvement in the case and with Marshall. He overcomes this and becomes a very impressive lawyer, having to work through the tough closing statement on his own.
Performances were very impressive it has to be said with Chadwick Boseman really taking the part of Marshall to a fantastic level and showing he really has what it takes with historical figures. Josh Gad taking on a very serious role is great to see, even if at times you can still hear Olaf from Frozen in his voice, that is just something we all have to deal with. I really did enjoy and love what he brought to the film. Sterling K. Brown is an actor who always impresses me in supporting roles and did that again in this film. Dan Stevens was good as the prosecution attorney all be it in a small role. Kate Hudson in a small role was also good and you really did not know whether to believe her or not.
Something I really enjoy about this type of film is seeing the different amazing things people have managed to achieve over the years. Especially with something like this where every single person should be allowed to have a fair trial when accused of a crime!
