{"id":19777,"date":"2020-01-08T14:46:43","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T22:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=19777"},"modified":"2020-01-08T14:46:43","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T22:46:43","slug":"just-mercy-is-a-well-acted-and-empathetic-tale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=19777","title":{"rendered":"JUST MERCY is a Well-Acted and Empathetic Tale"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/24_0009_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14439\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some true stories are so horrifying that it\u2019s actually\nshocking to believe that something like the events depicted could have occurred\nin the country so recently. The new drama <em>Just Mercy<\/em> details one such\nstory involving criminal injustice, that of a man falsely accused and convicted\nof murder simply because of his race. While this courtroom drama won\u2019t offer viewers\nany surprises, it is still an effective and well told story worth seeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Just-Mercy-prison-interview-1024x609.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19778\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The film follows a young Harvard graduate and lawyer named Bryan\nStevenson (Michael B. Jordan). Determined to follow his passion and help the\nwrongfully convicted as a defense attorney, he heads south to Alabama. While\nreading through case files, he discovers convict Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx).\nIn 1987, the prisoner was sentenced to death for the murder of an 18-year-old\ngirl, despite all evidence showing the inmate had absolutely nothing to do with\nthis crime. Stevenson convinces McMillian to let him file an appeal and\nrepresent him in court. However, the protagonist quickly encounters roadblocks\nand learns that the state\u2019s criminal and legal system, as well as those running\nthe institutions are still very racist, making his job all the more difficult\nand dangerous.&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The movie benefits from an exceptional group of actors\ngiving their all. Jordan stoically handles all of the nasty comments and\nactions directed his way, while Foxx effectively delivers an initially\nstandoffish quality that hides a sense of hopelessness about his character\u2019s\nsituation. While the two stars are excellent, the supporting cast members are\nequally strong. Over the course of the running time, the stories and struggles\nof a few other prisoners (Rob Morgan and O\u2019Shea Jackson Jr.) are also developed.\nMorgan\u2019s work as Herbert Richardson, a war veteran suffering from PTSD and also\nserving a death sentence, may be the most interesting and layered subplot. He is\nremarkable in the part and makes a big impression.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Just-Mercy-Richardson-other-case.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19779\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Technical skills on display are very strong as well. Despite this tale being primarily set in a prison and courtroom, it is also a nicely shot feature that uses and emphasizes strong orange hues and warm colors when the main characters are together trying to plan their next legal move. It contrasts nicely with the less attractive and pale gray and whites used in the prison environments and less colorful tones used in courtroom scenes.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Just-Mercy-brie-larson-1024x529.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19780\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the film is at times earnest to a fault. The good\ncharacters are noble in every possible way and the bad characters are generally\nhorrific beyond words. This may be an accurate representation of the people\ninvolved, but as a drama it comes across as stagey. And the story itself is\ntold in a very straightforward and routine manner, hitting all of the expected\nbeats. Even viewers unfamiliar with the events depicted will know exactly what\nis coming and have a clear idea of how things will play out long before they\noccur, eliminating some of the tension.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thankfully, the cast is so strong that they make up for any of\nthe more routine and predictable aspects of the screenplay with their\nempathetic performances. In the end, all involved have come together to make a\nvery good film with an important message at its core. While <em>Just Mercy<\/em>\ndoesn\u2019t offer up any shocks over the course of its running time, it capably delivers\nits inspirational and still relevant story to audiences. &nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some true stories are so horrifying that it\u2019s actually shocking to believe that something like the events depicted could have occurred in the country so recently. The new drama Just Mercy details one such story involving criminal injustice, that of a man falsely accused and convicted of murder simply because of his race. While this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19781,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,4830,4917,6251,10273,11384,11385,11386,11387,13756,15173,16386,17122,23321],"class_list":["post-19777","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-courtroom","tag-criminal-injustice","tag-drama","tag-jamie-foxx","tag-just-mercy","tag-just-mercy-film-review","tag-just-mercy-movie-review","tag-just-mercy-review","tag-michael-b-jordan","tag-oshea-jackson-jr","tag-prison","tag-rob-morgan","tag-true-story"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19777","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19777"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19777\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19777"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19777"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19777"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}