Netflix The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

[Jake Lipson]

Title: The Trial of the Chicago 7

Genre: Drama, History

Director: Aaron Sorkin

Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Alex Sharp, Frank Langella, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Strong, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Noah Robbins, Max Adler, Ben Shenkman, Jeffrey Scott Basham, Alice Kremelberg, Kate Miller, Kathleen Garrett, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Michael Keaton, William Hurt, J. C. MacKenzie, Thomas Middleditch, Max Adler, John Carroll Lynch

Release: 2020-10-16

Plot: The story of 7 people on trial stemming from various charges surrounding the uprising at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Netflix has acquired Aaron Sorkin's next film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, which was previously scheduled as a theatrical release via Paramount. Netflix will release it this year.

Netflix Finalizes Deal for ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ for Release in 2020

Streaming giant Netflix has acquired worldwide rights to "The Trial of the Chicago 7" from Cross Creek Pictures for release later this year.

variety.com

When I saw Sorkin's previous film, Molly's Game, I thought it was phenomenal but am pretty sure everyone in there was at least double my age. He tends to make smart, talky dramas that are specifically intended for older adults, so it makes sense for Netflix to take this in this moment. In normal times, I absolutely. would have paid to see this in a theater. However, since older adults are more susceptible to the virus, it makes sense that a film designed for that audience would be riskier to release in a theatrical environment at this time. Since I sadly have no plans to return to the theater until there is a vaccine, I'm glad I'll still get to see this one this year. It certainly has a great cast.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Netflix has scheduled an October 16 release date for the film.

Netflix Schedules ‘Trial of the Chicago 7’ for October

Netflix has set an Oct. 16 launch date for Aaron Sorkin's star-studded political drama "The Trial of the Chicago 7."

variety.com

 

[Sam Favate]

HBO had a play for television on this subject way back in the mid 80s. It was great. I look forward to Sorkin’s take on this.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Trailer:



October 16 is only 33 days away.

 

[Jake Lipson]

Another trailer:



23 days.

 

[Jake Lipson]

And here's a Variety article with Aaron Sorkin talking about the film:

Aaron Sorkin on ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7,’ Being a Playwright at Heart and a Puppy

During a conversation, Sorkin drills down on how he got to direct “Chicago 7” and why it finally went into production.

variety.com

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Just saw this, brilliant dialogue, as expected, after all, it's Sorkin. A lot of dialogue as well, after all, it's Sorkin.
Interesting subject I knew of, slightly, but didn't really know much about, and Sacha Baron Cohen was absolutely magnificent.
Not an actor I usually like, but he outshone everyone else this time.

 

[Sam Favate]

I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this. Brilliant writing, acting, directing, and there's so much relevance to the present day. This is one of the best films I have seen in many years. (I'm just sorry it took me this long to get to it!)

I was familiar with the story from HBO's 1987 Conspiracy film, which was more like a filmed stage play. But this, with its well-developed flashback sequences and out-of-courtroom scenes is definitive.

I hope it wins all the awards this season. There's so much competition among the actors I hope they don't cancel one another out.

 

[JoeStemme]

Resistance to authority has been in the air for the past several years, so it's not surprising that Writer-Director Aaron Sorkin would look back upon the prosecution of anti-Vietnam protesters The Chicago 7 in 1969 as a means of commenting on today's culture (it was made before the George Floyd protests this past summer).

After a whirlwind prologue which too quickly tries to set up the main story (lots of hot filmmaking, little light) the movie gets to its prime focus - the title trial. The participants are rapidly sketched out, but the main players in this telling are the accused Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen) and Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), the Prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the chief defense attorney William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) and Judge Hoffman (Frank Langella). The defendants were all in Chicago protesting the Democratic Convention the prior year.

When it adheres to the court transcripts, the movie is effective. The bedlam in the courtroom is dutifully laid out. The accused never truly speak as one and the judge is confused and belligerent - often at the same time. Black Panther Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) who was barely in Chicago for the Convention loudly protests and is bound and gagged by the judge for his outbursts.

Not content to keep the drama inside the courtroom, Sorkin cuts away to budget conscious re-enactments of the Protests, some contemporaneous performance art by Abbie Hoffman and actual news footage (shown, as sadly per usual these days, in the wrong aspect ratio). Unfortunately, despite some fine acting one never feels that TRIAL is of its era. It seems distant. Removed. The events happened "back then". There is no sense of the time and place. As good an ensemble as Sorkin and his casting people have gathered, they never congeal. It's as if we are witnessing an acting workshop where each actor gets to do their bit and then sit down as the next thespian does theirs. Rylance is a particularly fine here, as is most of the cast including Cohen (on a technical level) - his accent however, resembles a space alien mangling Boston and New York accents.

Being a Sorkin script, one knows going in that there won't be a strict faithfulness to the facts. Defendant and actual Boy Scout leader David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) didn't punch out a bailiff and there was no female Mata Hari style FBI agent (Caitlin FitzGerald) who wooed Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong). Of course, nobody expects to get just the facts from a Hollywood movie, but, Sorkin goes a step further than most acclaimed writers - even when the true story is often more interesting than his contrived version. Where this bites Sorkin in this project is the climax. It's not just that the reading of the Vietnam casualties didn't happen as portrayed here, but, that the movie hasn't set up the moment. So concerned with telling "a good yarn" that he fails to humanize the anti-war movement beyond some petty arguments between the participants. Even more damning, the very soldiers whose lives were endangered and, even lost, are so far in the background that the big emotional wrap-up feels hollow.

I know these critiques seem strong, but, it's only because the story of the Chicago 7 is still a fascinating tale. And, the movie does do a decent enough job of presenting the basics. The acting is good. If its holding it to a higher standard, so be it. THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 is a worthwhile production, but it clearly falls short of its own lofty goals.

 

[Sam Favate]

Has anyone heard anything about this movie coming to 4k and/or blu-ray?

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I think this was originally a Paramount film that the studio sold to Netflix in the wake of pandemic theater closures. For past Paramount/Netflix sell-offs, Netflix has had it as an exclusive for at least a year before the physical media release went out. Since this debuted on Netflix last October, I’d guess it’ll probably be at least until then before there’s any news on that front.