Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Eddie Redmayne | ... | Tom Hayden | |
Alex Sharp | ... | Rennie Davis | |
Sacha Baron Cohen | ... | Abbie Hoffman | |
Jeremy Strong | ... | Jerry Rubin | |
John Carroll Lynch | ... | David Dellinger | |
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II | ... | Bobby Seale | |
Mark Rylance | ... | William Kunstler | |
Joseph Gordon-Levitt | ... | Richard Schultz | |
Ben Shenkman | ... | Leonard Weinglass | |
J.C. MacKenzie | ... | Thomas Foran | |
Frank Langella | ... | Judge Julius Hoffman | |
Danny Flaherty | ... | John Froines | |
Noah Robbins | ... | Lee Weiner | |
John Doman | ... | John Mitchell | |
Michael Keaton | ... | Ramsey Clark |
In Chicago 1968, the Democratic Party Convention was met with protests from activists like the moderate Students for a Democratic Society led by Tom Hayden and the militant Yippies led by Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, which led to violent confrontations with the local authorities. As a result, seven of the accused ringleaders are arraigned on charges like Conspiracy by the hostile Nixon administration, including Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers who was not involved in the incident. What follows is an unfair trial presided by the belligerent Judge Hoffman (No relation) and prosecuted by a reluctant but duty-bound Richard Schultz. As their pro bono lawyers face such odds, Hayden and his fellows are frustrated by the Yippies' outrageous antics undermining their defense in defiance of the system even while Seale is denied a chance to defend himself his way. Along the way, the Chicago 7 clash in their political philosophies even as they learn they need each other in this fight. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol1970@gmail.com)
... or guilty until proven innocent. Nothing like a good court room caper to ratchet up the blood pressure, especially with Frank Langella presiding as the ever so slightly biased beak, and doing it to absolute perfection. Packed full, just like the court room of top drawer performances, it leaves you aghast that these scenarios could ever exist in the first instance while thankful that three British thespians can fill the voids American actors seem unable to satisfy.