Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Roman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action.

Director:

Dan Gilroy

Writer:

Dan Gilroy

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Colin Farrell	...	George Pierce
Carmen Ejogo	...	Maya Alston
Lynda Gravatt	...	Vernita Wells (as Lynda Gravátt)
Amanda Warren	...	Lynn Jackson
Hugo Armstrong	...	Fritz Molinar
Sam Gilroy	...	Connor Novick
Tony Plana	...	Jessie Salinas
DeRon Horton	...	Derrell Ellerbee
Amari Cheatom	...	Carter Johnson
Vince Cefalu	...	Security Bailiff
Tarina Pouncy	...	Hallway Bailiff
Nazneen Contractor	...	Melina Nassour (Ass't. DA)
Niles Fitch	...	Langston Bailey
Jocelyn Ayanna	...	Court Officer Bailiff

Storyline

ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as Roman Israel, a driven, idealistic defense attorney who, through a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action. Colin Farrell costars as the monied, cutthroat lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.

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Plot Keywords:

lawyer | court | murder | los angeles california | courtroom | 

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Taglines:

All rise.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Denzel Washington's Best Actor Oscar nominated performance was the only one in the category not in a Best Picture nominee that year.

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Goofs

When Roman and Maya find a dead homeless man on the sidewalk, a police car approaches them and the lights on the front of the car turn on. The film is set in Los Angeles, California and the police car's lights do not display a steady red light. In the California Vehicle Code, all police and emergency vehicles in California are required to have at least one steady red light facing forward when the flashing lights are on.

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Quotes

Roman J. Israel, Esq.: The ability to have conflicting ideas in one's head takes effort.

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Alternate Versions

After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film was re-cut by director Dan Gilroy and star Denzel Washington. The new version is 12 minutes shorter than the festival premiere. In addition to dropping some scenes, the film now features different music on the soundtrack (replacing a number of songs) and moves a scene depicting Roman and Israel going to a Lakers game at the Staples Center to an earlier point in the story.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Bill Hader/Arcade Fire (2018)

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Soundtracks

Do You Want a Man
Written by Paul Robert Cufflin and Paul Otten
Performed by Radio Villains
Courtesy of Crucial Music Corporation

User Reviews

Piercing the Soft Underbelly of the American Legal System

In "Roman J. Israel, Esq.," a drama written and directed by Dan Gilroy with Denzel Washington in the title role, the American legal system and the people who must somehow operate within its confines are exposed for what they are: an uneven mix of good and bad, with the tilt toward one or the other dependent as much or more so on the moral compass and grit of the individual as on circumstance, no matter how imposing or seemingly impossible they might be.

When someone asks criminal defense lawyer Roman what the "esq." on his business card is for, he replies _ proudly, with a wry grin: "A little above gentlemen and a little below knight." He might have added, a little below knight in white shining armor and a lot above an uncaring, fee-collecting robot.

Roman has spent his life fighting small injustices on behalf of the disenfranchised, a fight for which he has never been given credit while giving it everything he has, including sacrificing any kind of personal life to do it. He's been the real brains behind a small two-partner law firm he's formed with his former professor, and while tackling unglamorous cases he also has been assembling a brief that will change the class action portions of the justice system forever.

When his partner, in no small way the front man, has a heart attack and is incapacitated, Roman learns that the firm is in fact broke and has been much less altruistic than he was aware, something his former professor kept secret from him.

Roman subsequently applies for a job with slick young attorney George Pierce (Colin Farrell), whom his partner put in charge if something were to happen to him. it's an uneasy fit from the beginning, and Roman finds himself almost immediately morally and ethically challenged, not only in his interpersonal approach to clients and cases but in who he can defend and why.

When he tackles the case of a young African-American man arrested and charged with murder during a convenience store holdup, he begins to question everything he is and has done.

What Roman decides to do, and the consequences of his actions, are the core of a story that reflects scores of small real-life dramas playing out across the country well off the front pages, but significant in how they shape our beliefs and culture.

This may be Washington's finest work yet, a quiet if somewhat klutzy Everyman whose legal genius has both separated him from the norm while thrusting him into its very heart and soul.

This also may be Farrell's best film turn to date, an understated performance that stabs at the soft underbelly of our legal system.

The rest of the supporting cast _ including Carmen Ejogo, Amari Cheatom, DeRon Horton, Amanda Warren, Nazneen Contractor, Shelly Hennig, Joseph David-Jones and Andre T. Lee _ are uniformly excellent in their restrained intensity.

At once uplifting and disturbing, "Roman J. Israel, Esq." is outstanding on all counts.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Canada United Arab Emirates USA

Language:

English Spanish Armenian

Release Date:

22 November 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inner City

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$22,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$61,999, 19 November 2017

Gross USA:

$11,962,778

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,025,860

Company Credits

Production Co:

BRON Studios, Columbia Pictures, Cross Creek Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 129 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (DTS: X) SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1