Destin Daniel Cretton’s ‘Just Mercy’ is a significantly powerful argument against the Death Penalty.
The fact-based legal drama is an intelligently crafted adaptation of a powerful and thought-provoking book by Bryan Stevenson, based on true events of the same name. The American legal drama is an account of an idealistic young lawyer, Bryan Stevenson played by Michael Jordan and a poor black man who is convicted wrongfully. It chronicles their unforgettable fight against the murder conviction.
The film tells a story of Stevenson’s early career as an attorney fighting against the faulty convictions in Alabama. It primarily circles the wrongful conviction of Walter McMillian played by Jamie Foxx, an impoverished black man, who was arrested in 1987 for murdering an 18-year-old white girl and convicted based on a falsified testimony.
The screenplay presents some hard-hitting and overwhelming facts in their absolute rawness as the movie doesn’t conceal the racism and biases that lead to the prejudiced and hasty trial. The movie explores the obstructions and corruption that Bryan had to face while unwinding the mystery around the case. It reveals the unpleasant face of the system that thrives on by dominating the black population; imprisoning black men for their labour or lives.
The movie has its emotions and intentions right in the place. What it lacks is proper structured direction; he lacks the flair that a gripping and emotionally-ringing subject of this magnitude, twists & turns requires. However, the cast of the movie holds and balances the movie. Jordan shines out in his outrage as an idealistic appalled by the injustice happening in the system of justice. He leads the movie with his trademark charm while Foxx delivers excellence with his gut-wrenching restrained act of a man who is wronged by the system, and wants nothing except going home.
The movie had its global premiere at Toronto Film Festival on 6th September, and will theatrically release on 25th December.