★★★★
World-renowned civil rights defence attorney Bryan Stevenson works to free a wrongly condemned death row prisoner.
Classification: 12A
"Our courts have their faults, as does any human institution, but in this country, our courts are the great levellers, and in our courts, all men are created equal" - Atticus Finch
The story of Just Mercy takes place in the town of Monroeville, Alabama and is pointed out several times as the "birthplace of To Kill a Mockingbird", public servants telling lawyer Bryan Stevenson that the Mockingbird museum is one of the best civil rights landmarks in America. A clueless irony to these people who see a book which condemns racial injustice in the deep south as a claim to fame despite the judicial systems within that same town continues to serve white supremacy in the same infamous ways. All men are not created equal in America despite claims from constitutions and proclamations from fictional lawyers, the original sin to the country still runs deep with devastating pain that hasn't been forgotten. The bizarre representation of how white America feels that after the 1960's civil rights movement, racism doesn't seem to exist anymore but it does, it never went away and although Just Mercy covers events from thirty years ago it is still a powerful yet predictable film that speaks to thousands of injustices.
Director Destin Daniel Cretton's biographical recounting of the case of death row inmate Walter McMillian bears similarities to the case Atticus Finch argued, about a black man falsely accused of murdering a white woman and is convicted on no evidence beyond the flimsy confession of a convicted criminal. McMillian a hardworking but flawed man is who the authorities decide is guilty, as as the character states if your black "you're guilty the day you're born". Death row essentially just becoming lynching made legal as Michael B. Jordan's Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard Law graduate who sets up the "Equal Justice Initiative" discovers several discrepancies in McMillian's prosecution. Cretton isn't afraid to get uncomfortable with his depictions to the reality of racism in the deep south and the many deceptive forms it takes in dehumanising black people. From a prison guard forcing Stevenson into a strip search when visiting clients to a police pullover that has Stevenson directly intimated and threatened with a gun. Jaime Foxx's McMillian and others don't sugarcoat the reality to the character or the audience; if Stevenson is not careful he will be killed for digging into the truth behind his client's cases.
Just Mercy follows a very typical structure to legal dramas with the reveals of McMillian's case being expected but the real strength to the film is in the powerful humanity to the performances. The fact that it's easy to guess elements of the plot just speaks to these great tragedies of race in America, how unjust and bigoted law enforcement is to people of colour and how those stigmas that haunted Harper Lee's America are as alive as there were back then. Michael B. Jordan, Jaime Foxx and Rob Morgan captivate every scene they're in especially Morgan as his performance as death row inmate/PTSD stricken veteran Herbert Richardson is just heartbreaking. Herb represents how America has failed its most vulnerable and is punished for elements beyond his control and more importantly shouldn't be punished for; his race and mental health. It's the conversations and connections between McMillian, Richardson, and O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s Anthony Ray Hinton between their jail cells that give Just Mercy that extra edge over its predictable screenplay as the empathy you feel for these men sings loud. The culmination of Morgan's storyline is the best sequence in the film having the audience stare the reality of death row right in the eye and reckon with the moral failures of a society that dehumanises and executes its citizens.
Humanity and empathy are triumphant in Just Mercy through its performances, Foxx similar to Morgan gets many moments to dig deep into the psychological trauma that death row forges. The concept of a 'man's truth' is explored by Cretton and while how Stevenson faces an uphill battle at every level to prove McMillian's innocence, it allows a man who has forsaken all hope to accept his truth again. He was a man broken, bitter by the realisation that his life was seen as something so trivial that is could be easily destroyed on the weakest of lies. Stevenson's crusade reaffirms the value of McMillian's life and the hope it inspires not only within the man himself but also his family unearths raw generational pain to Foxx's performance, the life that was robbed from McMillian and his children becomes palpable in the film's stirring courtroom scenes. But the mission to provide legal counsel to those condemned highlights the great hypocrisy of how many Americans view their constitutional rights. That it's for them, not the rest like McMillian or Richardson, they're different and we all know the bigotry that fuels that divide. This power dynamic of the American south says McMillian is guilty because he's black because it's convenient and because law enforcement just needed a name to pin to a murder, who needs corroborating evidence or a fair trial? He's black and it's horrifyingly that's all people need to accept this false truth and feel safe again.
Michael B. Jordan (who also produced the picture) works well as the film's straight man in a sense, delivering the impassioned legalise about justice, mercy along with the injustices committed against McMillian but his performance really shines when that veneer of being a lawyer fades and reveals the integrity of the man underneath. His interactions in Monroeville span from genuine compassion such as Brie Larson's Eva Ansley, his legal assistant, and McMillian's extended family to varying levels of prejudice from Rafe Spall's district attorney Tommy Champan and the police force. The script and Creston's direction explores racism both as a venomous ideal but also as a matter of convenience; for characters like Spall's, it seems to just be easier to let these shameful archaic beliefs target the vulnerable than actually seek true justice. This white supremacy which has corrupted America wants to execute McMillian for being black and it's the cowardice of men like Champan which allows these injustices to continue unabated. Hiding behind excuses like the emotional state of the murdered girl's family, the safety of the community, and never realising that McMillian's continued false guilt does neither to provide clarity to either notion. A subplot follows how the prejudiced prison guard who strip searches Stevenson gains perspective and empathy to the death row inmates he interacts with. It's less of a racist redemption plot but more of how Creston delivers the message of how mercy and empathy can change one's views on capital punishment, how bigotry can be conquered and that we must all do better on how we perceive the condemned.
Innocent until proven guilty, that is supposed to be the case when accused of a crime, with Just Mercy directly questioning the integrity of justice in America. It follows a very predictable narrative structure, delving into typical tropes about race and legal dramas but Creston's film still packs an emotional punch with its raw emotion. It's compelling and emotional filmmaking about a true story that shouldn't have to be told, this tragedy to so many in America and across the globe who face wrongful prosecution. Just Mercy provides solace to the anger and sorrow with beautiful messaging about compassion, perseverance and the value to all life.
Director: #DestinDanielCretton
Cast: #MichaelBJordan, #JamieFoxx, #RobMorgan, #TimBlakeNelson, #RafeSpall, #OSheaJacksonJr, #BrieLarson
Release Date: January 17th 2019
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Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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