The Trial of the Chicago 7

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Aaron Sorkin has been around for quite some time. A Few Good Men, Moneyball, Steve Jobs, and arguably one of the best movies of the last decade, The Social Network, all have one thing in common: Sorkin as a screenwriter, but not as the director. Molly's Game was Sorkin's directorial debut, which makes The Trial of the Chicago 7 only his second time in the director's chair. I've either loved or liked every film from him, so obviously, my expectations were already high enough solely due to his pr...

Sacha Baron Cohen has now delivered my 2 favourite & memorable characters of the year in the same fortnight.

This movie is a strange incongruence. It inspired/engaged/enraged me at the same time as it made me feel flat. It could have been longer (the time flew by) and drawn out the characters more, but I felt that it had said what it needed to say. And the melodrama felt just above where it needed to be. Having said that, the editing is top notch and the performances are at least "on par", if not outstanding (Baron Cohen, Abdul-Mateen II, Rylance and Langela).

And regarding the ...

It is important for a film to say what it wants to say correctly and to somehow overcome its claim. "The Trial of the Chicago 7" is one of these films. A coherent narrative with a perfectly acceptable script and no extra glamor. Adapting in cinema has always been a difficult task, whether from another literary work or a real event. The film also manages to make this historical adaptation and not only shows the details well, which gives it a new spirit with the art of cinema, so that it has the necessary impact on the audience. An important point is that the film is successful in creating a fee...

Very well made, up until that ending anyway.

It's not a bad conclusion, but man is it cringe-inducing. It seems they were going for an end to match <em>'A Few Good Men'</em>, which was also written by Aaron Sorkin of course. From the overly uplifting score, to the slow clap, to the freeze-frame. Per <a href="https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/film/a34187167/true-story-the-trial-of-the-chicago-7/">Esquire</a>, the scene is not even how it went down IRL either. I'm all for 'Hollywood endings', just less of the cheese please.

The rest of <em>'The Trial of the Chicago 7'</em> is, though, ver...

Watching "The Trial of the Chicago 7" was difficult, not just because it depicts such a profound miscarriage of justice, but because these were my contemporaries. I wasn't in Chicago, but I was in Washington later, chased with tear gas. This wasn't history—it was memory.

Casting Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman is probably the most perfect casting ever in cinema history. He captures Hoffman's anarchic brilliance, his refusal to treat the farce with the dignity it didn't deserve. And make no mistake, this was a farce. Judge Julius Hoffman made it absolutely clear that this wasn't a trial...