The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)'s comments

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frankqb

Sorkin spellbinds again with this human look at a tumultuous time, and does a throwback to his early days of "A Few Good Men" with this courtroom drama. An absolutely amazing cast, with great performances, and Sorkin's writing keeps you glued to the film. Perfect pacing, wonderful messages that, yes, are just (it not more) as relevant today.

5 stars

3 years 6 months ago

baraka92

It was fine but... Wow! That ending came straight out of a 90’s movie. I know they moved that moment to the end of the trial for dramatic purposes but, why with that approach instead of something more subdued? The tone went from To Kill a Mockingbird to the ending of Big Daddy in a second. The only thing missing was a narration saying: “And that was the summer when we were part of the Trial of the Chicago 7”. As I said, the rest is fine. Sorkin is a functional director for better or worse.

3 years 2 months ago

Torgo

Whether you like this courtroom drama or not, you have to acknowledge the virtuosity in Aaron Sorkin's writing & directing. Thanks to high-paced editing and a variety in shots, the almost permanent waves of dialogue from many figures stay entertaining even to a broad audience, with sometimes thrilling rhetoric showdowns.
I appreciate how Sorkin seems to be able to turn any subject into digestible 2-hour entertainment, be it 1968 protests, weird poker criminal cases or the absurdlly contemporary Facebook biography. Not many have that gift.

The amount of known faces in the cast is astonishing. I can't believe how corny the final minutes were, though. Bad choice of music there. Ugh.

3 years 6 months ago

Tidorith

From the perspective of a non-American who went into the movie knowing nothing about the events - very compelling account. Super well made. Obviously people who don't like this kind of movie at all aren't going to be interested, but it's very captivating and engaging.

3 years 3 months ago

Forzelius

I like the feeling of watching an instant classic. Not very often you get to experience that.
Haven't seen credits like that since the 90s though. Were missing only the "and introducing x as y" part.

3 years 6 months ago

topichtennis

It was an alright movie. Didn't care for the direction much. It felt a bit uneven.

3 years 2 months ago

boulderman

Stressful, brilliant acting, drama and history

3 years 6 months ago

CakeofSugar

I saw some people critiquing the fact that it deviates from real life politics, but this is Aaron Sorkin, people. It doesn't matter who is talking, they will be talking Sorkinese

3 years 6 months ago

chunkylefunga

A brilliant insight into how corrupt the American judicial system was and sadly still is.

3 years ago

maarow

Demonstrates some of Sorkin's foibles and artificialities (e.g. one character making an off-hand comment in act one and another character waiting until act three to confront them about it because drama is needed), but I still found it a powerful, emotional experience.

3 years ago

PaulC138

I've come to the conclusion that courtroom dramas aren't my thing. I liked the non courtroom part's though.

3 years 1 month ago

Siskoid

Was there ever a more publicized kangaroo court than the one portrayed in Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7? The kind of film you watch to get frustrated (because things haven't changed much at all), between its great cast and ping-pong patter, it far exceeds expectations that come with court room procedurals. There are many moments I dearly hope are "as is" in the transcripts because they're too good not to be real. Now, Sorkin is my favorite utopist, usually showing us what we should strive to be like, but have fallen short of. In this case, a corrupt system is under attack (and after the year we've just had, we recognize it as our own), but what's exposed is the heart of the activist, a brand that isn't put up on a pedestal either. Sorkin explores their ethics too. And he has fun with it. As serious as the subject matter is, a guy like Abbie Hoffman was, quote-unquote, a character, and the editing is often clever. And it possibly wouldn't work without such a great cast, and they definitely deserve their curtain call, right down to the smallest role.

3 years 2 months ago