Stars: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo
Storyline
ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as Roman Israel, a driven, idealistic defense attorney who, through a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action. Colin Farrell costars as the monied, cutthroat lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.
Cast: Denzel Washington -
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Colin Farrell -
George Pierce
Carmen Ejogo -
Maya Alston
Lynda Gravatt -
Vernita Wells
(as Lynda Gravátt)
Amanda Warren -
Lynn Jackson
Hugo Armstrong -
Fritz Molinar
Sam Gilroy -
Connor Novick
Tony Plana -
Jessie Salinas
DeRon Horton -
Derrell Ellerbee
Amari Cheatom -
Carter Johnson
Vince Cefalu -
Security Bailiff
Tarina Pouncy -
Hallway Bailiff
Nazneen Contractor -
Melina Nassour (Ass't. DA)
Niles Fitch -
Langston Bailey
Jocelyn Ayanna -
Court Officer Bailiff
Trivia:
After the premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, director Dan Gilroy and Denzel Washington decided to re-structure and re-focus parts of the narrative, which resulted in the removal of 12 minutes of footage. The director said, that the TIFF premiere served more as "a very high end test screening", because there was no time to do it before, and all involved are now happy with the final cut. [Oct. 2017] See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 6/10
Back in 2014, Dan Gilroy made his first full-length film, NIGHTCRAWLER.
For a freshman effort, it's truly amazing as it was one of the best
films of the year and was a deeply disturbing but rewarding film to
watch. Because of this, I was excited to see a preview showing of
"Roman J. Israel Esquire" as the Philadelphia Film Festival. Plus, many
were excited because Gilroy managed to get the services of Denzell
Washington to star in this film. Sadly, the film was a bit of a
disappointment.
The film begins with Israel learning that his law partner has had a
massive heart attack. This is a problem because they are the only two
in the practice and Israel only works behind the scenes and the partner
is the man who tries the cases in court. Apparently, Robert Israel is
something like a person with Asperger's...as he has minimal people
skills and looks like he's still living in 1975. At first, he seems
nerdy and weird but good-hearted. Eventually, you come to realize he's
a jerk-face...and that is where the film lost me. Having the lead be a
total jerk down deep makes for hard viewing. A mildly interesting film
at best and a huge disappointment.
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