L'Affaire Roman J.

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.

The legendary Denzel Washington is associated with so many legendary roles that will forever live in the hearts of millions. And like many people, when I see he a movie of his about to release, I get excited I'm in store for another masterpiece. Enter Roman J. Israel Esq, a movie that from the trailers, held potential to be an interesting biography of a powerful legal, pro- action character that was certain to stir up trouble. Will it be powerfully emotional to fill your eyes to the brim with tears, or something else? Robbie K here to give you some insight into yet another movie this holiday season, let's get started.

LIKES:

The Message: Never say that a Denzel movie doesn't deliver a powerful punch in the emotional level. Roman J. Israel Esq, is another visual tribute to the topic of truth, honor, and the moral obligations of justice. The whole movie portrays the struggle of holding on to your beliefs vs. diving into the acceptable flow the public/society deems normal. We all have breaking points that push us into new areas and test our fortitude, the question is where does one cross the line and how far do they leap over it. Roman's tale shows the challenge quite well and more so what can happen when pushes the boundaries too far. It will get you thinking and perhaps question your own philosophies, assuming you can get past the other parts of this movie.

The Acting…kind of: Denzel still has his acting skills down pat. He portrays the awkward character quite well, capturing the serious thoughts, the quirky mannerisms, and even the speech patterns necessary for portraying the mind within. Even more impressive though, is how well he acts out the struggles of the high stakes choices that bear heavy on his mind. At times, one can feel the weight of the decisions bearing down on them, the anxiety of making the wrong choice radiating out in the sequences. His supporting cast helps open up more dilemmas to tax him, but can't say they have the most involvement in the town.

The Music: The soundtrack is not the most toe tapping number, but one can appreciate the soul behind the songs selected for this movie. There selections were choice representations of the tone of the scene, sort of artistically symbolizing Rowan's mood and his answer to the current obstacles that plague him. It's a dynamic track list that constantly changes between genres, and fits so well into much of the movie, while perhaps bringing back some nostalgia for other fans.

DISLIKES:

The weaker character moments: Despite all the quarks Denzel got, his character isn't the most engaging or magical of the roles he has played. Past the morals he boasts, Roman just doesn't have a lot to him. He was a fairly flat character, with disinterest seeming to ooze from Denzel during much of the performance, almost like he had to really push himself to play the part. I had a hard time caring about him, the potential the trailers building failing to live up as Roman continued to just shrug more and more of the qualities I looked for. A redeeming moment at the end got the steam going, but by then it was too late and the movie was over. It also doesn't help that the supporting character actors don't seem too excited in their roles, and are just as mundane as some of Roman's personality. The characters just aren't engaged in the tale, and many aren't utilized to their full potential.

Boring: The emotional trials are strong, the food for thought even more of a rewarding experience, but did the movie have to be so dull? While I never expected this film to be an action packed, guns blazing tale, I certainly didn't expect the movie to lack so much suspense. The plot didn't have enough edge, there wasn't enough action or peaceful protest, and the absence of any real villain just led to a very lackluster tale. I had to fight sleep a couple of times in this movie, though it could be due to the long work day, but a Denzel Movie is usually more charged than what I was presented. Which brings me to my next dislike…

Ambiguous: The movie's biggest problem for me was how aimless the plot was. The writers didn't seem to figure out which way they wanted to take the film, is a piece about being an activist, is it a biography, is it a crime/drama? I couldn't quite figure out the myself, but they settled on a little bit of everything, but didn't hit the high-quality components of the genres. The film could have used more crime/mystery to add the suspense, perhaps with a theme surrounding the hot political issues they try to cover, all showing the skills of the whomever Roman represented. I don't fell many will enjoy the approach they took, and the ambiguous story telling that was just stale and sad than anything else.

The VERDICT:

It held such potential, but Roman Israel Esq, just couldn't find its ground in the grand scheme of things. Denzel tried to do the heavy lifting, and accomplishes the messages of balancing morals, but outside of that lacks any big sustenance to him. In addition, the boring pace, weaker character interactions, and ambiguous plots, the movie just fails to provide the very justice it wanted to serve. Sad to see the legendary actor have a weaker film, but this reviewer encourages you to skip this movie and focus on the treasures that have already come out for your theater viewing pleasure, all while hoping Denzel will have another Oscar worthy film in the future.

My scores:

Crime/Drama: 6.0 Movie Overall: 5.0

I initially wanted to condemn the film as reverse racist after the flag pin remark but I decided to give it a bit more time and ended up watching it to the end. Some say they were disappointed at a slow plodding film that misused the talented Denzel and slapped them with a crappy ending. We were not watching the same film. Here Denzel portrays a man with every possible thing against him: he's a black man with a presumed Muslim last name, who has an almost autistic nature because of his savant abilities which has repressed his ability to be financially successful because he has no real interest in money and prefers to pursue truth instead. Once scene depicts him well when he appears to be rambling and then slaps us with the conclusion bringing it all together: there is no way to retain purity. Bam. We are hit with Roman's plight.

It is these savant abilities that drive him mad in his own mind while his simplistic brilliance is overlooked and mocked. As he struggles with his predicament after losing his purpose, he makes a fatal error. But in the end we see it was really the people who looked down on him who made the error by misjudging what Roman had to offer.

In the most subtle way, the film also asks us to review how we've treated people who seem strange to us and who we have mocked for thinking or sounding different then what we believe people should sound like.

A profound character study that studies not only him impact but those who impact him.

I tried to edit my initial review but didn't see any way to do that since it wasn't published yet.

Denzel Washington stars as Roman J. Israel, Esq. a mildly savant criminal defense attorney whose life is turned upside down when his longtime law partner passes away. Suddenly the passionate civil rights attorney who thanks to his fiery demeanor should stay far away from an actual courtroom, is left looking for a job. He is forced to settle for working for George Pierce (Colin Farrell) a successful defense attorney, whom Roman views as a profiteer who doesn't care about his clients. The entire ordeal breaks Roman, who sells out his ideals and loses sight of who he was.

Denzel gives a good performance as the extremely passionate and slightly eccentric Roman J. Israel Esq., but Roman's penchant for long rambling speeches made for tedious viewing. Colin Farrell's Pierce develops into a much deeper character than he originally appears to be and is utilized well. However, while Roman's struggle to find his identity is the core of the film it never really is able to captivate. Ultimately the film settles in as an interesting character study that struggles to come together as anything more than that. While many would be content with that, it is a disappointing follow up for Dan Gilroy after his excellent debut with Nightcrawler.

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...