Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Directed by Dan Gilroy. Starring Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, Lynda Gravatt, Amanda Warren, Sam Gilroy, Tony Plana, Amari Cheatom, Shelley Hennig. [PG-13]

Shoddily-conceived portrait of Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Washington), an idealistic defense lawyer with savant and social disorder characteristics, who undergoes personal and professional crises after his law partner passes away. Washington labors just on the right side of cheap actorly tactics in playing a role begging for more credible nuance, but it’s not a performance worth remembering; he’s let down even more by writer/director Gilroy’s muddled script, which forces him to do and say things over the course of the movie that fit neither the character nor reality in general. The setup is promising, especially in scenes where Roman fights the good fight against hard-headed prosecutors, judges, and even his “allies” in the new law firm he joins, but after enough missteps to break both ankles several times over, the film completely derails in the last third, plunging the viewer into quasi-thriller territory and a screamingly cheap resolution. Less a complete film than a first draft sketch in dire need of input and rewrites.

39/100