The Trial of the Chicago 7

Expectedly yet surprisingly for some reason, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is exactly what its title says: a trial. What is not surprising, however, knowing that it is written by the master of political dramas Aaron Sorkin [screenwriter of A Few Good Men (1992), The West Wing (1999-2006), Moneyball (2011), Charlie Wilson's War (2007) and The Social Network (2010)], is that Chicago 7 is exactly what a legal drama should be: nail-biting, thought-provoking and extremely contemporary.

Set in 1968, in the middle of the Vietnam War and the social justice movement, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is the depiction of the true story of seven people who were accused of conspirating against the Nixon administration and inciting riots. With them, the leader of the Black Panthers, Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) is also tried even though he was not involved in the incident and is being charged for a different crime whatsoever, while simultaneously he is being denied representation by a lawyer.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 starts with a quick witty montage of all the big events that have marked the decade of the 60s (the Kennedys' assassinations, Martin Luther King's assassination, the war in Vietnam, the draft lottery for the war). In this montage we briefly get to know the protagonists of our story and what they stand for. Still, for the greatest part of the movie, we are in a court watching the trial unravel and witnessing the injustice of the justice system.

The seven people accused of conspiracy are Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), members of the Students for a Democratic Society, Abbie Hoffman (Sasha Baron Cohen) and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), militant anti-war Yippies, David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch) a pacifist and activist, as well as Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins) and John Froines (Danny Flaherty). These seven people from different backgrounds, all come at the Democratic National Convention to protest against the war and the unnecessary deaths of American citizens. The protest however, soon turns violent and five months later they all go to trial where they are represented by William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) and Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shenkman) while the prosecution appoints Tom Foran (J.C.MacKenzie) and Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for the job.

The film is written as well as directed by an expert of political drama. For a long while, Steven Spielberg was attached to the project and one can wonder what that film would be like; however, the core of court movies is the dialogue and the chain of events that lead to the verdict; they are also a platform for great performances and stimulating, inspiring commentary, all of which Aaron Sorkin's movie provides.

Chicago 7 does not shy away from instantly making a comment on prejudice and how it can affect even a supposedly fair trial process. Frank Langella [Frost/Nixon (2008)] does an amazing job portraying Julius Hoffman, the heavily biased judge who seems to have already made his decision even before the trial begins. The movie also succeeds in showing directly as well as indirectly the political games that are played on the backs of the people, even those who are in the system.

Chicago 7 is also a timeless film; it might be set in the 60s but it rings a bell about every protest, demonstration and opposition to the system we have seen up to 2020. The question of police violence is raised once again, reminding us that, sadly, not many things have changed in the last fifty years. Voices are muffed, opposition is silenced, corruption is everywhere, power does not kneel and people who are on top will do what they can to remain there no matter the consequences for the simple people: those who might have had the idea and the dream to change the world but always hit the wall of injustice, violence and unyeilding status quo.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 has been on Netflix since October 16th.