There are a few memorable courthouse dramas, a Few Good Men and 12 Angry Men to name only two of which. And when they are well made, much like a winning verdict they are met with thunderous applause. That much can be said for Academy Award winning writer-director Aaron Sorkin's blistering true story of the Chicago Seven, a trial which went on for nearly a year in the late 60s. And at first when Netflix's latest drama starts it hits with immediate historical speeches, and it's a slow burner. But from the moment it starts to the final credits, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a real corker. First there's the cast, and they come in high from Oscar winning Brits to American legends, the real standout is Sacha Baron-Cohen and Eddie Redmayne who are beat for beat our their performances, Eddie probably may win another Oscar for this. And Cohen thankfully gives a career best performance and you can tell he'll want to add another gold to his trophy cabinet. Second is the writing, now courthouse dramas are smart anyway, with a lot of long words, some very fast speaking and a lot of shouting especially in a filled courtroom, and thankfully Sorkin who is known for his smart writing after The Social Network and Steve Jobs, adds to the intellect in wonderful contrast. And happily his directing adds to that too, every angle, every shot and every take are as compelling as they are stylish their is no error to his directing here, it might be a slow burner but it never drags. Every aspect of this thunderous courthouse drama delivers in spades and with the epic soundtrack it's almost as if it was made by well Sorkin there's no other way to describe that, and that is the highest compliment. The Trial of the Chicago 7 is powerful, it's smart and it looks like Netflix will be heading to the Oscars with this one. And whatever it gets its well deserved. Justice is good. 4/5. A must see.
Review of The Trial of the Chicago 7
