Marshall

Whether it's the Godfather of Soul, the first black baseball player, or the first black superhero, it's fair to say Chadwick Boseman is becoming one of the best actors of his generation.

So there was high hopes for this bio-pic about NAACP Civil Rights lawyer and first black supreme court justice Thurgood Marshall.

The film looks at one of the first cases of his career; a black chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer in Connecticut. Josh Gad is also in the film as a Jewish lawyer roped into being lead on the case when a judge decrees Marshall can only assist. This is important as the Gadd character has never tried a criminal case before.

You keep expecting Boseman to get that nomination sooner or later, "Get on Up" should have been his ticket, but "Marshall" while pretty good in most areas, just doesn't feel like it has enough weight to it.

I wish they did go with a bigger case of his, or just go all out and go with the one he's known most for- Brown v. Board of Education.

The movie becomes another case of a black man being railroaded by a biased and corrupt system built on fabrications. For some that may be enough to hold them; the court room scenes that take up most of the movie are often rousing if not predictable.

This is all pretty easy-going though- by the second half it's pretty much a comedy the lengths most of the white people in this movie will go to to hide their prejudices.

At times it almost feels like their trying to start a Thurgood Marshall movie Universe here- like this one may not be that good but we'll tease you with some of the better stuff to come if you want it.

But even so, Boseman brings life to this character, whether it's Marshall's perceptiveness or his gift of gab, he's cool because he knows he's the smartest guy in the room at any given time.

Josh Gad has his moments but he still can't seem to fully get out of the goofy sidekick role. We'll have to see how he does in "Murder on the Orient Express".

Oddly enough this is a bio-pic that comes across more as a crowd-pleasing good time than something that's going to be remembered at the end of the year, which is fine.

I laughed, I was invested in the court trial mostly, the performances, including from Sterling K. Brown as the chauffeur are very good. Yet you just feel like it should have done more.

So the score is 7 out of 10. If you guys liked this, check out Craig James Capsule Reviews on Youtube for more.

This enjoyable and inspiring movie is a worthy contribution to the courtroom movie genre. It memorializes the great Thurgood Marshall (who later won Brown v. Bd. of Education and sat on the Supreme Court). The film brings to life a forgotten rape case in Connecticut that Marshall tried early in his career when he was the solo staff lawyer at the NAACP. The story focuses on the plight of a black man accused of raping a white woman and it highlights issues of racism in the courtroom and on the streets. The movie recalls the classic fllms "To Kill a Mockingbird" (which also involved a black on white rape case) and "Anatomy of a Murder" (which also involved sexual issues and in which--like many real trials--we're never sure just what actually happened and who is telling the truth). The writing is sharp and witty and the acting and direction are great. Particularly strong is the emerging partnership and friendship of Marshall and the local lawyer, Sam Friedman, who had never tried a criminal case and thought he would just sit next to Marshall during the trial and and do nothing. But the judge forces Friedman to conduct the trial with Marshall serving as his adviser--and he rises to the occasion.

With the premiere of Marshall actor Chadwick Boseman has now played three cultural black icons. First there was James Brown the Godfather of Soul, then it was Jackie Robinson the first black player in modern times in major league baseball. Now it is Thurgood Marshall, but Marshall in his early days as a lawyer for the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People.

Thurgood Marshall in his career litigated many major civil rights cases including the most famous of all Brown vs. Board Of Education in 1954 that integrated the school system nationwide. Later on his career was capped by becoming the first black justice on the Supreme Court.

This story takes place in the late 30s by the music and the radio broadcasts with the news of the day. Thurgood Marshall has been sent to Connecticut to defend Sterling K. Brown a black chauffeur on a charge of raping his employer Kate Hudson.

This may be the north, but the racial attitudes in Greenwich, Connecticut are only more subdued than they are in Alabama. Fairfield County in those days in the richer suburban towns are pretty bad. You remember from Auntie Mame the phrase, Aryan from Darien. They're not crazy about Jews either.

Marshall being an outsider to the state has to be admitted to the Connecticut bar. Local attorney Sam Friedman played by Josh Gad is the lead counsel temporarily and the first motion is to get Marshall admitted. That is usually a pro forma thing, note how Matt Damon has to be admitted to the bar in Tennessee in The Rainmaker.

Such courtesy is denied Marshall by Judge James Cromwell. But he's allowed to sit at the defense table and coach Friedman. Despite a few curves thrown at the defense Gad who only did civil cases before this for insurance companies proves to be a pretty good advocate.

Boseman steps up to his role just as he did with Jackie Robinson and James Brown. He also has some wonderful domestic scenes with his wife Keesha Sharp and at a nightclub with Jussie Smollett and Chilli Thomas as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston. Good performances you think these are the real people.

Thurgood Marshall was also portrayed on screen by Sidney Poitier in the film Separate But Equal dealing with the school integration cases right up to the Supreme Court. These two really ought to be seen back to back for a full assessment of Marshall's career.

In his time when Lyndon Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court it wasn't just race that made Marshall's appointment unique. It was the whole level of experience in the kind of law he practiced for people like Sterling K. Brown. The goal is justice and the law has to work for all for justice to be realized.

Marshall is a film not to be missed.

I hate to say most, but there's a lot of biopics that are very formulaic in nature. And come to think of it, every genre deals with that issue. I can acknowledge that it's immensely hard to make a film that feels fresh and relevant at the same time. But I think the reason I tend to feel this way about biopics is because a lot of them seem to be directly aimed for the Oscar audience. And while that could be the case with Marshall, it's nothing less than a delightful film to watch.

As with so many biopics, the main reason Marshall succeeds is Chadwick Boseman's unsurprisingly good turn as the famous lawyer, Thurgood Marshall. Whether or not Thurgood was this way in real life, I absolutely loved the sheer display of confidence in Boseman's portrayal. It was almost to the point of cockiness, without being arrogant. It's that balance that made me appreciate what this man brought to the table.

Of course, there's also the dynamic of having a story that is still relevant to this day. Not only are people of color still discriminated, underestimated, and not believed in the court of law, but the idea of pitting race against race in the courtroom is something that is still unfortunately an issue today. So in a way, it was disheartening to watch the injustices happening throughout Marshall, as we know they are far from being over in the 1940's, but it's always nice to see something stick up for their people no matter what time period they are from.

Boseman isn't the only one who gives a good performance as Josh Gad, Sterling K. Brown, Kate Hudson, James Cromwell, and a few others give valuable turns as their respected characters. I think my only issue with the film is that it ultimately felt very safe. I'm not one to know how these real life cases played out, but Marshall definitely feels like it took a guarded approach to the subject matter. Because of that, you can appeal to a mass audience, but I don't know that it was as detailed or thorough that it needed to be. Don't get me wrong, Marshall is a powerful film, but I think it could have taken an even further step forward into that realm.

8.2/10

Marshall is a great movie that delivers on an old-fashioned courtroom drama. Great story with really good acting from the leads. Great cast overall. So far I have loved every role I have seen Chadwick Boseman play, he is a great actor and has this sort of swagger when acting. Sterling K Brown is great and one of the greatest actors in recent years. It was different but enjoyable seeing Josh Gad in a drama. I wish they would make more of these movies that follow Thurgood Marshall's journey. The only negative thing is that it felt a bit long.