Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
Directed by Dan Gilroy
Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.
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This is a 21st century legal crusader tale that harkens back to films such as “… And Justice for All” and “The Verdict” and “Presumed Innocent” and “A Time to Kill” and “The Rainmaker,” but it lacks the dramatic impact and the tick-tock intensity of those films.
The movie starts in the vein of a ruthlessly intelligent drama like “Michael Clayton” before racing through adversity, running a couple of unearned victory laps and landing just shy of a mawkish Will Smith vehicle like “Seven Pounds.”
(This is somewhat confirmed when Israel is later shown avoiding cracks in the pavement and insulting just about everyone he meets, a la Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets.)