Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.
Aaron Sorkin's courtroom drama crackles with sharp, rapid-fire dialogue and a propulsive narrative structure that weaves between the trial and the protest events leading up to it. The ensemble cast—including Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, and Frank Langella—delivers uniformly strong performances, with Langella's corrupt Judge Hoffman a particular standout. The cinematography is competent but fairly conventional for a courtroom drama, relying on standard coverage without distinctive visual flair. Novelty is moderate—the material is inherently compelling and Sorkin's voice is recognizable, but it follows familiar Sorkin rhythms and courtroom-drama conventions without truly reinventing the form. The ending, however, is a genuinely rousing and emotionally resonant crescendo, with the reading of the Vietnam War dead landing as a powerful dramatic payoff.