The Trial of the Chicago 7

The Trial of the Chicago 7

What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.

  • Released: 2020-09-25
  • Runtime: 130 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History
  • Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Keaton, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch, Mark Rylance, Alex Sharp, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Noah Robbins, Danny Flaherty, Ben Shenkman, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Caitlin FitzGerald, Alice Kremelberg, J. C. MacKenzie, John Doman, Wayne Duvall, Damian Young, C.J. Wilson, Brady Jenness, Meghan Rafferty, Juliette Angelo, Brendan Burke, Tah von Allmen, Alan Metoskie, John Gawlik, Kevin O'Donnell, Gavin Haag, Tiffany Denise Hobbs, Steve Routman, Madison Nichols, John F. Carpenter, Larry Mitchell, Mike Geraghty, Mike Brunlieb, James Pravasilis, Vic Kuligoski, Brandon Fierro, Calvin Ticknor-Swanson, Gabrielle Perrea, Michelle Hurst, Tony Lawry, Kathleen Garrett, Matt LeFevour, Christian Litke, Max Adler, Michael Bassett, Shawn Parsons, Julian Hester, John Quilty, Kate Miller, Edward Fletcher, Blair Lewin, Jessica Wood, Steven Komito, Marco Lama, Ben Kass, Gabriel Franken, Ed Flynn, Alex Henderson, David Fierro, Sam Nelson Harris, Marlee Mendelson, Hana Chew, Ashley Trumbo, Allison Trumbo, Shane Skidmore, Jeffrey Yonkus, Maria Jacobson, Brendan Brown, Dan MacDonald, Keeley Morris, Thomas John Gallagher, Michael A. Dean, Elizabeth Holder, Lex Elle
  • Director: Aaron Sorkin
 Comments
  • Semisonic - 4 December 2022
    Courts may have jurisdictions, but freedoms know no borders
    Aaron Sorkin may be a genius screenwriter, especially when it comes to court drama, but I'm sure even he hadn't foreseen the connotations this 2020 film has in 2022, not in the States but on the other side of the Iron Curtain.

    Another war is now being waged, and now another country thinks that sending its citizens to die for nothing but imperial ambitions of a delusional leader is something it can do and will get away with. The only difference is that now, more that 50 years after the events depicted in this film, the government doesn't even bother to have a trial for those who protest. They are just auto-convicted by people who would make Judge Julius Hoffman shed a blissful tear.

    One could argue that The Trial of the Chicago 7 is too much of a black and white story, where (almost) every bad character is a total scumbag and (literally) every good character is, apart from a few antics, a true patriot and almost a saint. One could claim that it deprives the story of essential depth and relatability, that a really good film mandates having complex and controversial characters. But reality is sometimes simpler than the laws of fiction prescribe it to be. And some people are just generally good, probably because that the members of Chicago 7 were brought together not by some master plan but by their own personal ideas, values and principles, and those just so happened to be genuine.

    Maybe (but I'm just assuming) the modern States aren't what they used to be during the Nixon time, so a story of a bunch of civil activists being prosecuted, wrongly convicted but then acquitted might not make a big splash. But until there remain to be parts of the world where such prosecutions keep taking place, it's important that we don't forget what fighting for something that matters looks like, and can keep the hope that truth can - and will - prevail alive. 50 years ago, the real Chicago 7 and their defense kept the hope alive for their generation. Today, it's Sorkin's turn to help our generation remember. That, and Sorkin's signature storytelling prowess, is enough to give this film all the love it can carry.
  • sergepesic - 21 March 2022
    Smart Production
    Watching the reenactment of a historical event awakens different emotions in different people. Some people expect to see immaculately correct version, completely faithful to historical records (supposing that something like that actually exists), and others look at the bigger picture. Artists are supposed to use their artistic license in telling the story. For perfectly accurate version I recommend reading the court transcripts. Dry and boring, but truthful. This is a very smart production, cast with brilliant actors, combining anti-war sentiments, brash humor and loads of filthy political shenanigans. Well timed story brought from the turbulent 60's to, what a surprise, equally turbulent and dangerous second decade of the 21st century. Same battles, same perils after 54 years. Depressing state of affairs. The struggle continues.