The script assumes at least a little bit of
knowledge about the players but also tells you
everything you need to know to stay engaged.
And it’s a joy watching actors stretch with
different types of roles (and accents). Strong has
fun going full stoner and Redmayne is effortless
as the more buttoned-up American. Baron-
Cohen perhaps is the most exciting as Hoffman,
the activist/showman who even his fellow
activists seemed to underestimate.
But the whole production is stacked with
brilliant actors in both big and small roles. Kelvin
Harrison Jr. appears too briefly as the Illinois
Black Panther head Fred Hampton, as does
the always wonderful Caitlin FitzGerald as an
undercover cop, to name a few.
As in any Sorkin joint there are at least three
lines of dialogue that might make your eyes
roll into the back of your head and your body
produce an involuntary groan so extended that
you will likely have to rewind. But it just goes
to show how good the rest of it is that a few
clunkers could stick out that much.
“The Trial of the Chicago 7,” a Netflix release, is
rated R by the Motion Picture Association of
America for “drug use, bloody images, language
throughout and some violence.” Running time:
129 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four.
MPAA Definition of R: Restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying
parent or adult guardian.