But sometimes things just fall into place
perfectly and “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which
Sorkin wrote and directed, is like a little gift in
this very complicated year — relevant, smart
and very entertaining. And seeing it only
requires a Netflix subscription.
As he did in “Molly’s Game,” Sorkin starts his
film in a sprint, energetically introducing the
audience to key players getting ready to go to
Chicago: “Yippies” Hoffman (Sacha Baron-Cohen)
and Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong), Students for
a Democratic Society members Hayden (Eddie
Redmayne) and Rennie Davis (Alex Sharp), the
conscientious objector David Dellinger (John
Carroll Lynch) and Black Panther co-founder
Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II).
But instead of taking us with them to the
protests, the film skips ahead to 1969 when
Richard Nixon’s Attorney General, John N.
Mitchell (John Doman) decides he wants to
charge the anti-war all-stars, or “the schoolboys”
as he calls them, with conspiracy to cross state
lines to incite violence. It’s some masterful
exposition (both funny and informative) that
sets up a trial that not even the lead prosecutor
Richard Schultz (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) believes
is winnable or right. Schultz will later try to