REVIEW: Roman J. Israel, Esq.

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Following a back room flower power activist as he is promoted to the main stage of procedural criminal defence courts, Roman J. Israel, Esq. chronicles the last three weeks in the life of the titular character.  Competently performed by Denzel Washington, this legal drama is engaging on some level but unfortunately does not reach the heights that it intends.  If there was an idea that this film wanted to communicate, it got lost among legal jargon, uneven pacing, and plot shifts.  Washington plays Israel with simmering peculiarities, but this should have been heightened to isolate the character as a true eccentric.  Wasted potential right there!  Colin Farrell plays the owner of law firm, Gary Pierce, but he is so miscast.  The role deserves a conventional career high-flyer type who later overturns his capitalist principles to share in some of Israel's progressive ideas.  Instead, Farrell comes across more as some local mafia boss with his short stature, soft voice, and tailored suits.  The final scene gives Israel his legacy, but it does nothing for Farrell's character.

B

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