Marshall (2017)

The story of Thurgood Marshall, the crusading lawyer who would become the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, as he battles through one of his career-defining cases.

Director:

Reginald Hudlin

Writers:

Michael Koskoff, Jacob Koskoff

Stars:

Chadwick Boseman, Josh Gad, Kate Hudson

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 5 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chadwick Boseman	...	Thurgood Marshall
Josh Gad	...	Sam Friedman
Kate Hudson	...	Eleanor Strubing
Sterling K. Brown	...	Joseph Spell
Dan Stevens	...	Loren Willis
James Cromwell	...	Judge Foster
Keesha Sharp	...	Buster Marshall
Roger Guenveur Smith	...	Walter White
Derrick Baskin	...	Ted Lancaster
Barrett Doss	...	Bertha Lancaster
Zanete Shadwick	...	Irene Lancaster
John Magaro	...	Irwin Friedman
Ahna O'Reilly	...	Mrs. Richmond
Jussie Smollett	...	Langston Hughes
Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas	...	Zora Neale Hurston

Storyline

In 1940, Thurgood Marshall is a young lawyer for the NAACP who criss-crosses the country defending innocent African-Americans from unjust indictments in court. His latest case is in Bridgeport, Connecticut where an African-American chauffeur is accused of rape of a wealthy white society woman. To admit Marshall into the local Bar, insurance lawyer Sam Friedman is picked over his objections to do introductions in court. However, Friedman's commitment changes drastically when the racist judge forbids Marshall to speak in court, forcing Friedman to act as lead counsel. Now in an intolerable situation for the pair, Marshall must guide his new compatriot through this criminal trial even as Friedman endures not only this unfamiliar area of law, but also the bigoted pressure he now must share. However, the case proves more complex than either anticipates with unexpected twists and turns even as it becomes a vital one that would define two careers as well as the fight for justice in America.

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Plot Keywords:

1940s | lawyer | attorney | african american | jewish | 

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Taglines:

Live Hard. Fight Harder.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic content, sexuality, violence and some strong language.

Did You Know?

Trivia

Josh Gad and Dan Stevens previously collaborated in Beauty and the Beast (2017).

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Goofs

At the end of the movie, Marshall drops some coins into a pay phone in Mississippi to call Friedman in Connecticut to find out the verdict in the case. He would've had to call the operator, who would've called a hub, which would have established a trunk line to New York City, and so on. Making that long-distance call could take all day.

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Quotes

Thurgood Marshall: I wouldn't be here if I didn't think we could win.

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Connections

Featured in The Oscars (2018)

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Soundtracks

Lemi 'ehpots
Composed by Salomone Rossi
Arranged and Performed by Dave Gross
Courtesy of Current Music

User Reviews

Crowd-pleasing bio-pic

Whether it's the Godfather of Soul, the first black baseball player, or the first black superhero, it's fair to say Chadwick Boseman is becoming one of the best actors of his generation.

So there was high hopes for this bio-pic about NAACP Civil Rights lawyer and first black supreme court justice Thurgood Marshall.

The film looks at one of the first cases of his career; a black chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer in Connecticut. Josh Gad is also in the film as a Jewish lawyer roped into being lead on the case when a judge decrees Marshall can only assist. This is important as the Gadd character has never tried a criminal case before.

You keep expecting Boseman to get that nomination sooner or later, "Get on Up" should have been his ticket, but "Marshall" while pretty good in most areas, just doesn't feel like it has enough weight to it.

I wish they did go with a bigger case of his, or just go all out and go with the one he's known most for- Brown v. Board of Education.

The movie becomes another case of a black man being railroaded by a biased and corrupt system built on fabrications. For some that may be enough to hold them; the court room scenes that take up most of the movie are often rousing if not predictable.

This is all pretty easy-going though- by the second half it's pretty much a comedy the lengths most of the white people in this movie will go to to hide their prejudices.

At times it almost feels like their trying to start a Thurgood Marshall movie Universe here- like this one may not be that good but we'll tease you with some of the better stuff to come if you want it.

But even so, Boseman brings life to this character, whether it's Marshall's perceptiveness or his gift of gab, he's cool because he knows he's the smartest guy in the room at any given time.

Josh Gad has his moments but he still can't seem to fully get out of the goofy sidekick role. We'll have to see how he does in "Murder on the Orient Express".

Oddly enough this is a bio-pic that comes across more as a crowd-pleasing good time than something that's going to be remembered at the end of the year, which is fine.

I laughed, I was invested in the court trial mostly, the performances, including from Sterling K. Brown as the chauffeur are very good. Yet you just feel like it should have done more.

So the score is 7 out of 10. If you guys liked this, check out Craig James Capsule Reviews on Youtube for more.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA China Hong Kong

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marshall

Filming Locations:

Buffalo, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,000,805, 15 October 2017

Gross USA:

$10,051,659

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,116,816

Company Credits

Production Co:

Chestnut Ridge Productions, China Wit Media, Starlight Culture Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.00 : 1