Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 – A Showy Prestige Drama

The hype is strong with this one. Considering the talent both in front of and behind the camera, The Trial of The Chicago 7 has been pretty much anointed as a top contender come award season and it’s easy to see why. While its destiny will inevitably include a fair share of awards, the film can’t quite elicit that deeper emotional connection in order to give it staying power. The moments are definitely there and though impressive albeit showy for the most part, they didn’t amount to that compelling of an experience. With all the hype surrounding it, it’s only natural to have expectations and perhaps those expectations may influence one’s enjoyment of this film. Meanwhile, the work of famed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has certainly been an acquired taste though his recent first forray into writing and directing gave birth to 2017’s Molly’s Game. Though his work behind the camera has undoubtedly improved and his script was still as sharp as usual, if felt like there was still something missing here.

The Trial of The Chicago 7 is of course based on the true story of 7 men who were accused of being the ringleaders of a series protests around the 1968 Chicago Democratic National Convention and were subsequently tried in federal court with conspiracy, Abbie Hoffman (Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Strong), Tom Hayden (Redmayne), John Froines (Danny Flaherty), Lee Weiner (Noah Robbins), Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), and David Dellinger (John Carroll Lynch). Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) was an eighth man who was charged whose trial was severed from the other proceedings (more on that later). Starting off with the trial, over the course of the film, the story would jump back and forth in time to explain how multiple factions of different ideologies came together despite their differences towards a common goal which was to head to Chicago and the convention and protest the war in Vietnam whether they had a permit or not. The different personalities and the contrast in ideologies on both sides of the issue (though each side had their own sides) ran the gamut ranging from hilarious to incredibly tense over the course of the events leading up to the protests and during the trial.

Essentially, The Trial of The Chicago 7 was a trial of ideas as the main interest of the government was to regain the narrative and the public discourse about the war. Suffice it to say that the odds were not stacked in their favor be it the political climate of the time during the lead up to the convention or while being put under the microscope by forces looking to make an example out of them. Though it’s easy to relate to their frustration and be inspired by their passion as they recount events from their perspective, one can’t help but think that there was something missing (letting the truth unravel added another dimension to the story). Meanwhile, judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) and his questionable methods didn’t help with the proceedings. William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) and Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shenkman) faced an uphill battle, facing Hoffman and lead prosecutor Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a young and ambitious newly-named U.S. attorney. The trial definitely had its ups and downs with the usual courtroom “showy moments” which were impressive on paper, however, rang a little too hollow. In the end, the trial part of the film took some time to get going. Once it got there, it was impressive to watch. However, the film couldn’t quite come down from that high and would stumble by the end.

It should as a surprise to no one that the best part of The Trial of The Chicago 7 was its excellent performances and the chemistry among its stellar cast though the sharp script also played a major role. Though all the big names more or less had their moments, no one performance truly stood out. As a result, it was hard to connect with any of the characters on  a deeper emotional level. Nevertheless, many will surely garner some award consideration for their turns. However, picking a few from the cast will certainly be a challenge. Cohen arguably has the most showy role as Abbie Hoffman, imparting his personality to the over-the-top hippie while still giving him some humanity. The same could similarly be said for Strong’s Jerry Rubin.

At the end of the day, while The Trial of The Chicago 7 is surely destined to be an award contender, that doesn’t mean that it will work for everyone. The pieces are there but one can’t help but feel that something was missing. Despite that, those pieces still make it well worth the watch.

still courtesy of Netflix

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.