The Trial of the Chicago 7

Dramatised account of the trial of protesters arrested during the time of the 1968 democratic convention in Chicago.

This is a thrilling and intriguing historical drama with moments of anger and humour in the right places. The plot unfolds in a highly compelling way and the cinematography, editing and pacing all support the storytelling well.

It contains some excellent performances from a great cast, all of whom play clearly defined characters and have excellent screen chemistry. Frank Langella and Mark Rylance for me give superb performances as I felt they did exceptionally well to stand out in a film with so many stars.

One of the positives about a historical drama is that it (hopefully) should prompt people to research more about the subject matter and hopefully this movie has piqued an interest in many people unaware of the events to look back into history and find out more.

Unfortunately, the other side of the coin it's that many people do not take the time to do the above and take what they see in a movie as the gospel truth. This one contains scenes created for dramatic licence which for me can diminish the credibility of something implied as non-fiction.

Aaron Sorkin's script is as sharp and witty as ever, but at times it makes me feel like I am watching actors in a play reciting Sorkin-style dialogue rather than something that actually happened. Also, the the ending feels like it's laced with typical Hollywood dramatics designed to get emotion out of the audience.

This is a very relevant movie in the current political climate. With scenes such as the one showing Bobby Seale bound and gagged in a US courtroom it should prompt plenty of discussion points, especially being released so close to an election.