{"id":21450,"date":"2020-10-15T13:20:17","date_gmt":"2020-10-15T20:20:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=21450"},"modified":"2020-10-15T13:20:17","modified_gmt":"2020-10-15T20:20:17","slug":"the-trial-of-the-chicago-7-makes-a-powerful-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=21450","title":{"rendered":"THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 Makes a Powerful Case"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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This film will be available for streaming on Netflix\nFriday, October 16th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The late 1960s were a tumultuous period in US history,\nfilled with massive demonstrations and counterculture protests against the\nVietnam War. One of many events that garnered attention was the 1968 Democratic\nNational Convention. In fact, the biggest news story broke outside the\nconference center after an incident at one of the rallies resulted in turmoil. In\n1969, eight men were charged with crimes in connection with the protests,\nincluding conspiracy and inciting a riot. The Trial of the Chicago 7<\/em>\ntells the story of the shocking legal battle that followed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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High-ranking government officials meet with Federal Prosecutor\nRichard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and give him a mandate to charge attendees\nfrom multiple factions. The targets include Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Abbie\nHoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp) and several other famous\nfaces involved in the movement. Another figure tried is Blank Panthers chairman,\nBobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), whose connections to the unrest are even\nless defined. Defense attorney William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) is hired to represent\nseveral of those under indictment, but finds the job exceptionally difficult\nbecause of a horrific judge (Frank Langella) presiding over the case. The\nlawyer must also mediate between group members with different thoughts and\nopinions on how to proceed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While movies set largely around a courtroom environment can\nbe dry and don\u2019t always play out as tense or exciting affairs, this picture certainly\nbucks the trend. This is due to the story involving a roomful of notable and distinctive\ncharacters who butt heads with everyone\u2026 sometimes even those within their own group.\nIn fact, at times there is arguing between multiple parties all within the same\nscene and location. There\u2019s continual conflict on display throughout as the\ncase becomes increasingly confrontational. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Writer\/director Aaron Sorkin (creator of the TV series The\nWest Wing<\/em> and the writer of Moneyball<\/em>) cleverly constructs the tale\nto help viewers slowly piece together what transpired. While much of the\nmaterial occurs in court as witnesses are questioned, their answers are intercut\nwith flashbacks to specific interactions. The technique works very well, adding\nenergy to the storytelling and delivering information in a dramatic fashion.\nSorkin also has a knack for sharp and incisive dialogue. Every individual has their\nown quirks and flaws, as well as a different approach to getting their message across.\nSome are earnest in their protest and outrage, while others try to use humor to\nshow disdain for the government. It\u2019s fascinating to witness them use different\nmethods to stand up for their ideals as individuals and as a collective whole.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While the screenplay is remarkably strong, a movie like this\nalso depends on its cast. Once again, the movie delivers with an incredible\nensemble, and each performer excels in their respective roles. This includes\nCohen\u2019s excellent rendering of the sharp-witted Hoffman and Redmayne\u2019s more\nconservative Hayden, who seemingly isn\u2019t as bold or brash as the others on\ntrial. Admittedly, there are far too many characters to deal with in this story\nand not all of them get the attention they deserve. However, the fast-paced\ndialogue and performances does create a zippy pace that never lags in spite of\nthe familiar court setting, and the fact that the drama revolves around recollections\nof a past event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, this movie also benefits from an important message that feels just as important and relevant today as it did decades ago. This is a big, slick and polished feature, but there are potent and strong moments over the course of the running time that hit the mark and elicit an emotional response. The Trial of the Chicago 7<\/em> is one of the stronger films to come down the pipeline in recent weeks. It will shock, infuriate and ultimately inspire viewers with its impressive storytelling and powerful arguments. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This film will be available for streaming on Netflix Friday, October 16th. The late 1960s were a tumultuous period in US history, filled with massive demonstrations and counterculture protests against the Vietnam War. One of many events that garnered attention was the 1968 Democratic National Convention. In fact, the biggest news story broke outside the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":21451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[98,198,624,982,2789,4210,4830,5671,5703,6251,6704,11039,13266,16447,17077,17506,22449,22450,22451,22452,23260,23780,24578],"class_list":["post-21450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-98","tag-198","tag-aaron-sorkin","tag-alex-sharp","tag-biopic","tag-chicago","tag-courtroom","tag-democratic-national-convention","tag-demonstrations","tag-drama","tag-eddie-redmayne","tag-joseph-gordon-levitt","tag-mark-rylance","tag-protests","tag-riots","tag-sacha-baron-cohen","tag-the-trial-of-the-chicago-7","tag-the-trial-of-the-chicago-7-film-review","tag-the-trial-of-the-chicago-7-movie-review","tag-the-trial-of-the-chicago-7-review","tag-trial-of-the-chicago-7","tag-vietnam","tag-yahya-abdul-mateen-ii"],"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\/21450","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=21450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}