The Trial of the Chicago 7

"The whole world is watching." The Trial of the Chicago 7 benefits in particular from an excellent cast and a real-life story. Although the film is mostly set in a courtroom and consists mainly of courtroom dialogue, accusations, objections, testimony, etc., it does not come across as unnecessarily verbose and boring; on the contrary, it thrills through verbal shootouts and confrontations between the various characters, which it manages to do until the very end. Of the actors, Sacha Baron Cohen, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance and, in a smaller role, Michael Keaton were the best, but , the other actors also played their parts in a convincing manner. The film skillfully blends period footage with Aaron Sorkin's reconstruction of the actual case, and engagingly highlights the age-old struggle between ordinary honest people and a politically amoral system. (17/04/2021)

Netflix's burning iron is a Best Picture of the Year and Oscar contender and I'm rooting for it! Aaron Sorkin serves up a tense and controversial trial about a demonstration in Chicago where blood flowed in the streets, and it's one of the best courtroom dramas of the last few years. The acting is absolutely top-notch and every actor gets a chance to shine (Sacha Baron Cohen, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne and Mark Rylance are all impeccable). The film has a very oppressive atmosphere, is emotionally charged, nicely paced and I found myself holding my breath during the courtroom scenes. A very good film in every respect, I have nothing to fault it. Story*****, Action>No, Humor***, Violence**, Entertainment*****, Music****, Visuals****, Atmosphere*****, Suspense****. 9/10. (16/10/2020)

A history lesson for high school students led by a vain teacher who likes to show how he can popularize an interpretation even at the cost of losing the essentials. It's a courtroom sitcom that still balances on the edge of a caricature. The connection between the court proceedings and the events during the demonstration is laborious in terms of the directing, and the screenplay, despite having a good rhythm, sometimes feels like its showing off. The acting is satisfactory and it's not boring, but for me it doesn't have any deeper impact beyond decent fun, with a somewhat clumsy ambition to become a society-wide event. (22/10/2020)

What really impressed me was how this issue was treated in the film. Yet again, I witnessed how American "democracy" works in practice. I did not doubt for a moment that a poetic (or rather creative) license was used many times but given Mr. Hoover's long-term work and the nice tradition of McCarthyism, I don’t care. Mark Rylance was brilliant again. (30/11/2020)

The acting is so good, I'd gladly watch it all over again this minute. And amazingly its Cohen who carried it for me, despite the fact that I’m not exactly a fan. Whether he was joking or being serious, I totally believed that this is exactly the kind of person that existed back then. Having seen the whole thing, I rate the script as successful, but I guess I won't be the only one who wasn't hooked at first. Once the courtroom opened, the powerful, at times sad, at times funny trial began, with the aforementioned cast delivering a beautiful, at times heartbreaking, performance. Still, I feel that their performances could have been "pieced together" a little better for the viewer. A strong 4 stars. (28/08/2021)