The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Director: Aaron Sorkin
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alex Sharp, Sacha Baron Cohen
Runtime: 129 minutes

Synopsis: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

Verdict: Talk about history repeating itself! It's crazy to think that in a year characterized by massive anti-establishment protests all around the world, one of the films leading the awards race deals with that exact same topic. Written by Aaron Sorkin back in 2007 (!), the project had been in development hell for well over a decade now and was even initially handed over to Steven Spielberg. With no results in sight, Sorkin decided to take matters into his own hands and direct the feature himself, making it the follow up to "Molly's Game", his successful debut released three years ago.

"The Trial of the Chicago 7" is the true story of the infamous trial that took place between 1969 and 1970 against seven people charged with initiating violent protests in Chicago to denounce the inhumane Vietnam War. It's an interesting courtroom drama and the retelling of a story that needs to be heard now more than ever. Not only does it shine a light on major flaws in the American legal system at the time, but it also highlights the importance of fighting for what you believe in in a smart and organized way. The acting was overall pretty good, but it's the production design that impressed me most as the 1960s were captured in a very authentic manner.

But I can't help but feel a little let down by a film that I had been impatiently waiting to check out, and the main reasons for that disappointment are in its script and its tone. I never thought I'd be criticizing an Aaron Sorkin script in my life as he's a reference in the field, but the obnoxiousness was drooling in some of the lines featured in his latest project. It was difficult to buy a lot of the dialogue because it simply didn't feel natural, organic, or even subtle. The half-serious, half-energetic tone of the narrative also didn't work for me as it made the watch a slightly chaotic one with no real personality. I felt at times like I was watching a weighty courtroom drama backed by dramatic music and mature handling of scenes, and I felt at other times like I was watching an Adam McKay political satire, filled with lots of cuts, goofy music, and misplaced jokes. The passage of time was also very poorly achieved, and had the film not included texts indicating how long the trial was dragging, I would've probably thought that it happened over the course of a couple of weeks. We couldn't truly see the frustration of the parties involved except in a few moments of weakness, nor was their tiredness of the whole process effectively shown.

Considering the delicate situation in which the world is going through right now, I do believe that this movie will gain a lot of attention in the next few months. And while I do think that it's an important watch from an educational perspective, the cinephile in me wasn't truly impressed with Sorkin's second directorial feature as it truly checked all the boxes of a typical Hollywoodian dramatization of true events. It's available on Netflix so check it out if you want to, but I sadly won't be rushing to revisit it anytime soon.

FINAL GRADE: 5/10