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| Eventbrite |
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is the story of the titular lawyer (Denzel Washington), an old Civil Rights activist who has since become the man behind the scenes of a prominent legal firm. When his partner has a massive heart attack, Roman is forced to try and find new employment, bringing him into contact with slimy lawyer George Pierce (Colin Farrell) and local black rights activist Maya (Carmen Ejogo) along the way. However, when a frustrated Roman comes upon an illegal and despicable way to make some extra cash, he faces a choice that will change his life forever. To go further would be to court spoilers, but let's just say it gets complicated.
It’s hard not to watch this movie without thinking of Dan Gilroy’s previous film, Nightcrawler. Both feature morally complex characters facing hard choices in pursuit of success, but the comparisons pretty much end there. While Nightcrawler’s Lou Bloom was a creepy mofo willing to do awful things at any time for any reason, Roman J. Israel is a man of virtue and principle who has dedicated his life to massive legal reforms that benefit the African-American community. This film is also much lighter than the last one, with some good humor peppered throughout and a livelier pace, and is much less of a gut punch. I’ll get into that bit in a minute.
Denzel Washington is always great, and he once again brings his trademark talent to this role. Despite being a stubborn, cranky old man with a bad temper, you still like the guy and admire his dedication to his cause. He’s resistant to the changing times technologically and socially in some ways, but he is brilliant and has good insight to impart to folks around him… if he could just stay out of his own way. Denzel plays this character perfectly, moving between the conflicting aspects of Roman’s personality with ease and making you feel pity for the man even when he’s doing something terrible. While all the actors do a good job, it may as well be a one man show because Roman is in most every scene and your focus never leaves him.
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| IndieWire
His performance is 75% afro.
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What surprised me the most about this film was the skill Dan Gilroy has as a director despite this being only his second film. He is clearly very interested in telling noir stories, as you see numerous shots of Roman where his face is shrouded or engulfed by the size of the city around him (or the ocean, in what is probably my favorite shot of the film). It’s great visual storytelling as Roman gets way in over his head and things get darker in his life, and the fact that it pulls off the noir vibe in sunny Los Angeles just makes it even better. Gilroy is clearly a talented guy, and I can’t wait to see where he goes with his career as a director.
Dan Gilroy is not just a director but a writer, and it is the script that is both the film’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. Being a legal drama there are a lot of words thrown around here in some lengthy exposition, and it’s to the credit of Gilroy and Denzel that they don’t feel too heavy handed. There are also some great scenes that make you ponder some big questions, such as the scene where Roman’s attempt to instruct some activists on how to handle cops while protesting goes wrong when women in the audience angrily resist his efforts to be polite. Different audiences may view this scene and the exchange differently, as some will take a more modern view that he was in the wrong and being a bit sexist while others will see it as a chivalric act that was being rejected by punk kids who have no real respect. It may cause an argument depending on who you go with.
However, by that same token the real big question Gilroy seems to be asking here just isn’t as interesting as one would hope. Once Roman performs his despicable act everything in his life turns around for him, with those who initially dumped on him now respecting him and his prospects lifting financially and professionally. As his life brightens his soul darkens, and as the old MLK quote about the moral arc of the universe (quoted in this movie, in a not so subtle bit of foreshadowing) goes, eventually that rubber band is gonna snap back. Does this sound familiar? Because it’s basically the plot to half of every morality tale in the world, and it’s disappointing that this story that had such potential to really dive in deep blows it in this regard.
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| Patheos
Spoiler alert for half the world's morality tales, and this movie.
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Nightcrawler comparisons really hurt the film here the most, as that film was such a nihilistic, depressing and yet eye-opening look at the world of the news media, reflecting society as a whole by allowing the dangerous psychopath to win in the end. Maybe I just expected too much from this film, but I feel the exact same potential was here just from the premise alone: a crusader for justice abandoning his cause because he's sick of the ungrateful people and the toll it has taken on his life. It just doesn’t follow through on it, and I left feeling disappointed because of it. It’s a testament to the quality of the good parts of this film that this didn’t affect my rating that much, and was more of a personal quibble.
While not as good as Nightcrawler was, Roman J. Israel, Esq. is an enjoyable film that will keep you engaged from beginning to end and is bolstered by an excellent performance by Denzel Washington in one of his most engaging characters in years. Dan Gilroy’s direction and script mostly excel at bringing you into the seedy world of sunny LA, and any issues I had are not enough to detract from the overall quality of the movie. Go check it out if you can, you won’t be disappointed!
My Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is in theaters now
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