The Trial of the Chicago 7The Trial of the Chicago 7
Year: 2020
Rating: R
Length: 129 minutes / 2.15 hours

For decades, Aaron Sorkin has written some of the best films ever created. Classics like A Few Good Men (1992) still stand up, and modern masterpieces like The Social Network (2010) and Moneyball (2011) are starting to become timeless as well. And while he’s mostly been the writer of these films, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) is his sophomore effort as a director. Somehow, the ability to accurately translate his words into the actors’ performances created—in my opinion—the best film of 2020.

It’s clear Sorkin cut his teeth long ago with courtroom dramas, but this movie is by far the most intricately-crafted exposé of the corruption of the American justice system I’ve ever seen. The fact that the parallels to 50-years later are shockingly similar actually makes me sick, but that’s perhaps why this film works so well right now. It doesn’t give me hope that these systems will ever be broken or fixed any time soon. While this is a depressing thought, it’s what makes The Trial of the Chicago 7 so impactful. If this doesn’t open your eyes to the reality of injustice, then I don’t know what will.

With an all-star cast including Sacha Baron Cohen (in perhaps his best performance ever), Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the thing that makes this movie really work is how the details of the riot are gradually revealed—including a shocking twist that is both thrilling and heartbreaking. I’d consider this movie right up there with some of the best films of all time, like To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) and 12 Angry Men (1957); it’s that good.

Aaron Sorkin’s masterpiece and a grave reminder of the American injustice system, I give The Trial of the Chicago 7 5.0 stars out of 5.

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