If throwing around the terms "masterpiece" and "instant classic" too often is a crime in film critic world, then I'm currently serving a life sentence in jail. I've mentioned on this site before that I tend to rely on those easy labels, and it's a habit that I've tried to curb. But how else does one describe a film like Nightcrawler, the 2014 noir sensation that featured a career-best performance by Jake Gyllenhaal and announced the stunning talents of writer/director Dan Gilroy, who had spent years working as a screenwriter on minor projects. The frightening portrait of a sociopath crime photographer who takes his job a little too seriously became a smash cinephile hit, becoming one of the buzziest titles on the festival circuit and an instant cultural reference point for fans in certain circles. I loved Nightcrawler when I first saw it, and it's a film that has only grown on me in the years since. Whatever Dan Gilroy wanted to do next, I was there.
When news broke that Gilroy was teaming with Denzel Washington for his follow-up film, it sounded like a match made in heaven. Gilroy created an iconic character with Nightcrawler's Louis Bloom, and Roman J. Israel, Esq. looked to be another keenly observed personality study from the writer/director. Unfortunately, this muddled disappointment is a compelling character in search of a story, as well as a proper genre to go along with it. To be honest, it's somewhat remarkable to watch a movie without any clear sense of guiding direction, a film that is reinventing itself on a scene-to-scene basis. At different points in the story, this film is a legal thriller, a morality play, a conspiracy story in the vein of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, and a civil rights drama. Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a total mess, and not even Robert Elswit's stellar cinematography nor a unique Denzel Washington performance can save it.
During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Denzel Washington) was a towering figure of progress and legislative protest. But since his social mannerisms fall somewhere on the spectrum, Roman has had a difficult time adjusting in the years since. He works behind-the-scenes at his law firm, building cases and creating a mental encyclopedia of information. But when his partner falls ill and eventually passes away, Roman is faced with financial difficulties for the first time in years. His partner's family confirms to Roman that they're shutting down the partnership, with slick Los Angeles attorney George Pierce (Colin Farrell) orchestrating the takeover of the firm. While George may seem like a soulless monster, he actually had Roman's partner as a professor in college, and he eventually became a major source of inspiration for his career.
George offers to take Roman on as an employee at his powerhouse firm, since he has a deep admiration for the man who his law mentor praised all these years. As a man of ethics and ironclad principles, Roman refuses, opting to volunteer for a social justice organization, run by the charismatic Maya Alston (Carmen Ejogo). Maya is struggling with the realities of reform and idealism, and while Roman has a desire to enact sweeping legislative reforms that could change the entire justice system in America, the practicality of life is beginning to creep up on him. After years of "doing the impossible for the ungrateful," Roman is ready to do something for himself for a change. During the aftermath of a botched case, Roman is confronted with a choice- do the right thing, or help himself. The ramifications of that decision will become dangerous and possibly even deadly for all involved.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a tough nut to crack, because I just can't pin down exactly what this movie is trying to say or do. For starters, as evidenced by the poster and practically the entire Oscar campaign, this is Denzel Washington's movie. Forget Gilroy, forget the supporting stars- this is Denzel's show from start to finish. And there's no doubt that this is a radically different, completely distinct performance from one of the most famous actors on the planet. Washington nails so much about Roman, from his mannered vocal patterns to the strange way he carries himself. But at the same time, the character is massively inconsistent, and I just can't help but feel that Denzel was wrong for the role. And ultimately, this comes down to one simple reason- he's too charismatic. Underneath the odd walk and the small tics, this is still recognizably Denzel Washington. In some of the moments that should feel awkward or vulnerable, there's still that movie star twinkle that normally makes Denzel one of the best. Here, it's just distracting.
It's an interesting time in history to release a film about the death of idealism, but Gilroy doesn't seem to have much to say on the matter. He doesn't really build to Roman's morally thorny (and illegal) decision at all, and once the character is corrupted, Gilroy instantly pulls back to make sure the audience knows that his protagonist feels terrible about the whole ordeal. Essentially, this is a problem because Roman J. Israel, Esq. has no real overarching story or themes to give it any sense of flow from scene-to-scene. One moment, it's a quiet commentary on urban gentrification in Los Angeles, and shortly after that, it's about the clash between modern social politics and old-school reform. You would think that these ideas and themes would be explored throughout the movie, but Gilroy has an odd way of saying what he wants to say and then moving on. You're left going "Wait, what?" while the movie has already shifted to its next idea.
Again, this goes back to the fact that I really think that this was a rough outline of a movie that ended up getting turned into a feature film. It's jarring and bizarre at times to see how Gilroy has stitched everything together, putting individual scenes in order with barely enough connective tissue to make sense. To give a prominent example, there's a scene where Roman and Maya discover a homeless dead man on the side of the road. Roman slips his card into the man's pocket so that he can have a proper burial, much to the chagrin of the police. However, the man gets up and walks away- turns out he wasn't really dead after all. The scene shows Roman's fortitude even in the face of the cops, but nothing that happens in this encounter is ever referenced again. In another scene, George berates Roman for the incitement of a malpractice suit, something that you think will soon become a major plot point. Moments later, we learn that the suit was dropped. And this pretty much becomes the driving concept of the movie- individual scenes serve their purpose, those scenes occur, and then the characters (and the audience) move onto whatever's next. It's an utterly strange way to structure a movie, and this is a stylistic choice that just never works.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. never recovers from its lack of dramatic momentum, and when Gilroy tries to conjure up some suspense towards the end of the film, it just falls flat. After the stunningly clear and ambitious vision of Nightcrawler, Gilroy finds himself in a major sophomore slump with this tiresome and ineffective drama. Sometimes a movie ends up just out of a filmmaker's grasp, and that seems to be exactly what happened with this one. Gilroy never found the movie, and even with Denzel Washington giving his all to this one-of-a-kind character, Roman J. Israel, Esq. suffers from a never-ending stream of inconsistencies and a narrative that never clicks into place. With the talent involved, this certainly has to be chalked up as one of the biggest misfires of the year.
THE FINAL GRADE: C- (5/10)
When news broke that Gilroy was teaming with Denzel Washington for his follow-up film, it sounded like a match made in heaven. Gilroy created an iconic character with Nightcrawler's Louis Bloom, and Roman J. Israel, Esq. looked to be another keenly observed personality study from the writer/director. Unfortunately, this muddled disappointment is a compelling character in search of a story, as well as a proper genre to go along with it. To be honest, it's somewhat remarkable to watch a movie without any clear sense of guiding direction, a film that is reinventing itself on a scene-to-scene basis. At different points in the story, this film is a legal thriller, a morality play, a conspiracy story in the vein of Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, and a civil rights drama. Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a total mess, and not even Robert Elswit's stellar cinematography nor a unique Denzel Washington performance can save it.
During the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Denzel Washington) was a towering figure of progress and legislative protest. But since his social mannerisms fall somewhere on the spectrum, Roman has had a difficult time adjusting in the years since. He works behind-the-scenes at his law firm, building cases and creating a mental encyclopedia of information. But when his partner falls ill and eventually passes away, Roman is faced with financial difficulties for the first time in years. His partner's family confirms to Roman that they're shutting down the partnership, with slick Los Angeles attorney George Pierce (Colin Farrell) orchestrating the takeover of the firm. While George may seem like a soulless monster, he actually had Roman's partner as a professor in college, and he eventually became a major source of inspiration for his career.
George offers to take Roman on as an employee at his powerhouse firm, since he has a deep admiration for the man who his law mentor praised all these years. As a man of ethics and ironclad principles, Roman refuses, opting to volunteer for a social justice organization, run by the charismatic Maya Alston (Carmen Ejogo). Maya is struggling with the realities of reform and idealism, and while Roman has a desire to enact sweeping legislative reforms that could change the entire justice system in America, the practicality of life is beginning to creep up on him. After years of "doing the impossible for the ungrateful," Roman is ready to do something for himself for a change. During the aftermath of a botched case, Roman is confronted with a choice- do the right thing, or help himself. The ramifications of that decision will become dangerous and possibly even deadly for all involved.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a tough nut to crack, because I just can't pin down exactly what this movie is trying to say or do. For starters, as evidenced by the poster and practically the entire Oscar campaign, this is Denzel Washington's movie. Forget Gilroy, forget the supporting stars- this is Denzel's show from start to finish. And there's no doubt that this is a radically different, completely distinct performance from one of the most famous actors on the planet. Washington nails so much about Roman, from his mannered vocal patterns to the strange way he carries himself. But at the same time, the character is massively inconsistent, and I just can't help but feel that Denzel was wrong for the role. And ultimately, this comes down to one simple reason- he's too charismatic. Underneath the odd walk and the small tics, this is still recognizably Denzel Washington. In some of the moments that should feel awkward or vulnerable, there's still that movie star twinkle that normally makes Denzel one of the best. Here, it's just distracting.
It's an interesting time in history to release a film about the death of idealism, but Gilroy doesn't seem to have much to say on the matter. He doesn't really build to Roman's morally thorny (and illegal) decision at all, and once the character is corrupted, Gilroy instantly pulls back to make sure the audience knows that his protagonist feels terrible about the whole ordeal. Essentially, this is a problem because Roman J. Israel, Esq. has no real overarching story or themes to give it any sense of flow from scene-to-scene. One moment, it's a quiet commentary on urban gentrification in Los Angeles, and shortly after that, it's about the clash between modern social politics and old-school reform. You would think that these ideas and themes would be explored throughout the movie, but Gilroy has an odd way of saying what he wants to say and then moving on. You're left going "Wait, what?" while the movie has already shifted to its next idea.
Again, this goes back to the fact that I really think that this was a rough outline of a movie that ended up getting turned into a feature film. It's jarring and bizarre at times to see how Gilroy has stitched everything together, putting individual scenes in order with barely enough connective tissue to make sense. To give a prominent example, there's a scene where Roman and Maya discover a homeless dead man on the side of the road. Roman slips his card into the man's pocket so that he can have a proper burial, much to the chagrin of the police. However, the man gets up and walks away- turns out he wasn't really dead after all. The scene shows Roman's fortitude even in the face of the cops, but nothing that happens in this encounter is ever referenced again. In another scene, George berates Roman for the incitement of a malpractice suit, something that you think will soon become a major plot point. Moments later, we learn that the suit was dropped. And this pretty much becomes the driving concept of the movie- individual scenes serve their purpose, those scenes occur, and then the characters (and the audience) move onto whatever's next. It's an utterly strange way to structure a movie, and this is a stylistic choice that just never works.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. never recovers from its lack of dramatic momentum, and when Gilroy tries to conjure up some suspense towards the end of the film, it just falls flat. After the stunningly clear and ambitious vision of Nightcrawler, Gilroy finds himself in a major sophomore slump with this tiresome and ineffective drama. Sometimes a movie ends up just out of a filmmaker's grasp, and that seems to be exactly what happened with this one. Gilroy never found the movie, and even with Denzel Washington giving his all to this one-of-a-kind character, Roman J. Israel, Esq. suffers from a never-ending stream of inconsistencies and a narrative that never clicks into place. With the talent involved, this certainly has to be chalked up as one of the biggest misfires of the year.
THE FINAL GRADE: C- (5/10)
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