Aaron Sorkin is a man who isn’t shy about dialogue. He’ll enlist huge rants and back and forths between his characters, and yet there’s always something meaningful traded that adds to the overall narrative. A lot of people have taken issue with that staple but it generally works in great favor with “The Trial of the Chicago 7.” It’s not just an excellent dramatic reproduction of a milestone event in 1969, but it also is the movie that we sorely needed right now. In 2020, America completely turned the tide engaging in protests and important statements about civil rights, and Sorkin swoops in to add to the important conversation.
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” is based on the infamous 1969 trial of seven defendants charged by the federal government with conspiracy and more, arising from the countercultural protests in Chicago at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. The trial transfixed the nation and sparked a conversation about mayhem intended to undermine the U.S. government. As I mentioned, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” is the right movie, for the right time, for the right social temperature. 2020 was a hailstorm of protests, riots, fights for civil rights and a crucial shift in political power.
Sorkin’s film doesn’t just explore how much of the idea of protests were used to hurt the activists even in the sixties, but contributes to the conversation of how much we want to sacrifice to continue the fight for equal rights and civil rights. Sorkin assuredly lionizes much of the people he focuses on, injecting an excellent ensemble cast to portray many of the heroes that faced off against riot police one fateful night. Along with Sorkin’s stylish flourishes and taut dialogue, the cast is stellar. Sasha Baron Cohen, in particular, steals the show portraying radical activist Abbie Hoffman, the most vocal of his group of protestors.
As Hoffman, Cohen’s performance is absolutely award worthy and he disappears in to the man and the myth. He’s complimented by myriad performances from Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and John Carroll Lynch, respectively. “The Trial of the Chicago 7” is every bit a courtroom drama as it is a movie about revolution and the sacrifices made in the name of civil rights in America. We’re given a bird’s eye view in to literally everything that unfolds from the perspective of our heroes to those that sought out to stamp the protestors. And it amounts to a narrative that isn’t always pretty or neatly resolved, but evocative, and often absolutely mesmerizing.
“The Trial of the Chicago 7” is a film that definitely promises to hold significant weight over the years, especially as it stands in the tall shadow and legacy of the absolutely tumultuous 2020. It’s easily one of my favorite films of that year, and one I hope to re-visit for a third time very soon.