Roman J. Israel, Esq.

This is a BRILLIANT journey from the perspective of someone utterly detached from any personal connection to those around him.

The story is told and presented in such a way that you, the viewer, feel as detached as Roman is, but compelled to follow his journey to the end. For although he has difficulty with human interaction, and detached from humanity on a personal level, he feels a strong responsibility for humanity itself.

Denzel, as Roman, is a behind the scenes lawyer, a legal savant with some mental complications (I'm no doctor) which many brilliant people, especially savants, often face.

Colin Ferrell is a successful lawyer who finds himself perplexed by Roman's behaviors while increasingly inspired to adopt Roman's mission in life as he is reminded of the reasons he went into law himself.

As the story unfolds, you find a detached sympathy for Roman in the same way he would feel for you. How uncanny that we can be so manipulated in the acting and direction process, while some viewers leave disappointed with the movie as "flat" or bad because they couldn't get emotionally involved with Roman, silly gooses, that was supposed to happen.

Roman's emotions are absent, or sometimes buried, as in the way he continually failed to express a normal response to the health predicaments of his former legal partner, something presented from the beginning of the movie and throughout.

It's a story which moves fast but isn't an action movie, it has no needless scenes or dialogue. In addition to the story of Roman, it tells the story of one particular concern within our legal system. It certainly deserves much more than the 6.4 rating it currently has. I would give it a solid 7.5 which is quite respectable at IMDb.

What we have here is a portrait of an idealistic lawyer with autism, played by Denzel Washington. The lawyer loses his sheltered job and is now forced to take care of himself despite his huge autism handicap. Will he survive or will he break down?

"Roman J. Israel" is a thoughtful, intelligent and fascinating movie. But not suited for those without patience and understanding of people with autism. It is acted very well, but is unlike any other Denzel Washington movie I have ever seen. If you were only interested in Denzel's actionmovies before, then I strongly advise you to walk away, because this is a slowburner. Nothing much happens. Slow tempo.The dynamic of this movie mimics autistic characteristics: the movie itself becomes void of big emotions, just like the main autistic character played by Denzel Washington. The story meanders a bit, which can be confusing. But then again Denzels life as a lawyer is confusing and chaotic as well. The story follows the characters mindset, which is all over the place. Had difficulty understanding WHAT kind of film this was, because I didnt knew beforehand that Denzel played a lawyer with autistic tendencies.

Is it still any good? Yes, but it is probably only suited for a smaller arthouse audience, with an open mind for people with mental disabilities. Puzzling, intelligent portrait of an idealistic lawyer with autism, with an ending that comes close to feel good, but with some questions left open. I have never been so puzzled before by any Denzel movie as with this one...

At an end note: Mind you, look at the poster, what do you see? He looks away, you dont see his face. That's unheard of. But done deliberatedly. Autistic people fear communication with others. They look away. Avoid (eye) contact. Misinterpret other people's meanings. That is what this movie is about. And it is also about the positvie characteristics. It is also about idealism and the typical characteristics that make autistic people special and admirable. Very delicate and confusing movie. Fascinating nonetheless...

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.

This film was Dan Gilroy's second directorial debut, and although his forte of experience is writing, he failed that department, and did better in his directing (camera work, but not his choice of editing).

The problem with the writing is the dragged out mumbo-jumbo Denzel Washington had to say to express his savant mentality, most of it not making any sense or philosophically unnecessary, and it extended into 2+ hours of doing so. Denzel carried his role so exceptionally well, that had this film been edited down to 80 or 90 mins by getting rid of the convoluted and unnecessary dialogue, it would have been dramatized much better.

Then there's the premise to the film; standing all this time for a cause, then slipping to the other side, then going back. What was the point? What was the message?

This film is nothing extraordinary, but nevertheless, Denzel and Colin Farrell's great acting were the only reason this film has as high (6.3) of a rating as it does, and would have been much lower with any sub-A list actors, or higher with better writing.

It's a generous 7/10 from me

For a split second there, you are watching "Q&A" or any of the other political dramas Sidney Lumet was famous for. Despite what reviewers have said here, this is mature movie that exists in a different time. And it is tragic that it is lost in the dummies of 2017 society.

The story is of a lawyer whose past convictions of social injustices get called to task when his partner suffers a heart attack. Roman is thrust into reality of facing the people who he left a long time ago to be the shadow autistic man content to vomit all sorts of facts without a shred of...personality tolerable to anyone. Everyone who has worked in an office knows this guy. He's aggravating because he only understands a brand of logic that lacks...spirit. He laughs at the wrong moments. And when put in social situations...he will anger you. However, he possesses massive commitment to a social cause. There's a line in the movie where an admirer defends Roman as "we stand on his shoulders." In other words, despite his annoyance...he has contributed to the cause. What cause is the question. The answer? It doesn't matter. The cause is ambiguous other than Black crime and rights. Which isn't the point it's trying to make. I would guess, it means to be anything we have convictions of and lose sight of will ultimately destroy us. Is that a digestible concept. Not to this world. In all honesty, when Roman starts to slip, we are actually much more comfortable. Because we all sell out when times get rough. This is a wonderful film that will be discovered years later. Much like a Sidney Lumet film (can you even name one). I will say, people will watch it and feel shame they didn't seek it out later. Denzel Washington should get nominated here.