2020 seems to be a hot year for enthralling courtroom dramas. Steve McQueen’s Mangrove – as part of his Small Axe anthology coming later this year – was a seething look at the case of the ‘Mangrove Nine’ in 1970. Now, Aaron Sorkin is bursting onto the scene with The Trial of the Chicago 7, a retelling of the 1968 trial of the ‘Chicago Seven’ after their peaceful protest went awry.
The ‘Seven’ are a roster of colourful characters from hippies Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Jeremy Rubin (Jeremy Strong) to conscientious objector David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch), and political activist Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) amongst others. Well, they’re eight for a large amount of time as Black Panther leader Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was also indicted alongside the men – despite having no ties whatsoever to the protest or the riot that ensued; he’s lumped in to “make them look scarier”. Represented by William Kunstler (Mark Rylance), the group take on prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and seedy judge Hoffman (Frank Langella) in a case that shook the world.
Sorkin has made a career out of retelling true stories with kinetic energy to them. He’s certainly no stranger to the political or courtroom landscapes, having penned both The West Wing and A Few Good Men. In that sense, Chicago 7 has all the ingredients of a good Sorkin endeavour and, for better or worse, this is the filmmaker at his most cocksure – an assured display of his trademark style. Sorkin knows what audiences expect of him and he knows he can deliver the goods. Characters utter one sharp zinger after the other and the propulsive narrative never lets up for a second. But that hyper-realism is fitting for the larger-than-life characters we’re dealing with here and you can’t help but feel that, in the hands of any other writer, the lack of energy would result in something dull.
What makes Chicago 7 different then is that, unlike Sorkin’s other efforts, the standout here isn’t the script but rather the ensemble bringing it to life. This film belongs entirely to the cast. While the dialogue is as good as ever, it’s the committed turns from the actors and the veritable chemistry between them that will linger long after the credits roll – notably the supercharged turn from Redmayne and the rare dramatic performance from Baron Cohen who shows he that he is just as captivating as he is hilarious. While some actors are a little under-utilised and sidelined, the story is mostly focused on the trial itself rather than the individual lives of the defendants so it’s easy to see why Sorkin spotlights particular people instead. Although it would have perhaps grounded the proceedings somewhat to have that personal touch in some instances.
Early on in The Trial of the Chicago 7, Baron Cohen’s Hoffman compares the eponymous case to the Academy-Awards: “This is the Academy Awards of protests and as far as I’m concerned, it’s an honour just to be nominated.” Indeed, this is Sorkin playfully winking at his audience – an Oscar winner himself for The Social Network. But there’s a reason that his films always find themselves with buzz and accolades. And it’s easy to see the filmmaker’s latest turning a few heads come Awards season. This is a rip-roaring piece of work as razor-sharp and entertaining as they come. If Aaron Sorkin had already cemented himself as one of the finest scriptwriters in the biz, now he does so as one of the finest directors. His winning streak continues.
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Summary
A rip-roaring piece of work as razor-sharp and entertaining as they come
The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now playing in select cinemas and is released on Netflix on 16th October.
