Roman J. Israel, Esq. - Dan Gilroy (2017)

Dan Gilroy's legal drama/thriller "Roman J. Israel, Esq." is one of the most ambitious films to come out in 2017. It wants to be so many things: thriller, drama, an attempt at a biography, and squeezed between all that, just a bit of romance.

Roman, played by Denzel Washington, is an introverted lawyer who has dedicated decades of his life to fighting for civil human rights.

For decades, Roman has stood in the background, under the wing of his boss and mentor. He's not one to seek the spotlight. He prefers his quiet but important work to practice than the kind of legal work that brings one glory.

When his mentor is incapacitated by a stroke and later dies, Roman's world turns upside down. Now he has to be integrated with humans. Roman feels a great weight put on his shoulder. He feels alone in his determination to see that their clients' civil liberties are defended.

George Pierce, (Colin Farrell) represents a significant power shift in the firm. He now runs Romans' office and aims to turn the law firm on its head, threatening Roman's important civil work in the firm. Roman's smacked down every time he tries to work on one of his civil rights cases.

Roman's life, and his career, are put on the line as he has to start to decide whether or not he can learn to work as a lawyer focused on money.
This misery continues through the second act. We wonder if Roman has a breaking point. Are there circumstances under which he would be willing to sell out?

The rest of the film kind of melts into a law-thriller. There's no center, no focus. Roman's story feels incomplete as if we are just watching a merging of several sub-plots.

The trailer makes "Roman" come off as a civil rights film, but it's a disappointment when you find it's more or less just about a guy going through midlife crisis.

And the half-hearted romance they throw in could have easily been cut from the film without missing a single beat. Maybe that's why the film feels so unfocused.

But "Roman J. Israel Esq." does have virtue.

We watch Roman as he tries to take on not just one case, but the entire prison system.  It shines a spotlight on how malicious our justice system really is.

He insists that, "A person is more than the worst thing they've ever done."As we can see in the U.S. today, with mandatory minimums and unbending, merciless Prosecutors, the punishments handed down are usually excessive ,especially when it comes to young black men.

Of course, lawmakers who point this out are labeled "soft on crime," which would hurt their careers. That is why it's up to the courts to fix this problem and that's why I do hope a lot of people see this film. It's a fight most of America either doesn't know about or doesn't care about. That's why Roman's struggle is worth it.

As for Gilroy's effort itself: The entire film feels uneven and will leave you unhappy and confused. Hell, I can't even decide if it's a thriller or a drama.

So, I guess come for the politics, not the quality of storytelling.

Because in a word, meh.