MARSHALL

MARSHALL

Film Review by FIORE

There is a lot to be said for MARSHALL, even though it is a story that was told many times before and presents nothing new to the tale.  This version is notable, primarily for the acting of Josh Gad, who shines.

MARSHALL is a snippet of the life of Thurgood Marshall, first Negro appointed to the Supreme Court, and the man responsible for the famous (infamous) Brown vs. the Board of Education decision, which still greatly affects the public school system.  This film concentrates on the early part of Marshall’s career, when he was a lawyer for the NAACP, hearing cases around the country involving racism.  The particular case presented in this film concerns an accusation of rape by a white socialite against her black chauffer in Connecticut.  

Chadwick Boseman plays Marshall, and his performance is the weakest of the cast.  He struts like a proud peacock through the part, bringing an almost superhero smugness to the role; like he’s already read the script.  Perhaps he was still in character from his upcoming stint as BLACK PANTHER.  

Gad is the man who makes this film.  He plays Sam Friedman, a simple civil lawyer who is hoodwinked into taking the criminal rape case with Marshall.  Kate Hudson plays Eleanor Strubing, the woman crying rape and Sterling K Brown is her chauffer, Joe Spell.  James Cromwell is Judge Foster, who oversees the courtroom and Dan Stevens is Loren Willis, the prosecutor.

Cromwell and Hudson offer fine performances and Stevens is second only to Gad in his portrayal of an attorney convinced race and propriety will win out over the truth.  Brown provides yeoman duty.  In a brief cameo role, Keesha Sharp appears as Marshall’s wife.  She currently plays a stronger character in TV’s version of LETHAL WEAPON as the wife of Damon Wayon’s character, Roger Murtaugh.

On the technical side, the soundtrack is supplied by jazz bassist Marcus Miller.  The screenplay, by Michael and Jacob Koskoff, is well paced, but does present a story told frequently, and better, in the past; especially by Walter Mosely and his Easy Rawlins detective novels.  The Koskoff’s version, though it deviates conveniently to accommodate the film’s mien, offers nothing novel in the retelling.  As such, there is no tension in the courtroom scenes, as the unfolding of events is largely predictable.  Director Reginald Hudlin supervises the production seemingly complacent with its mediocrity.  

While MARSHALL is not a film worth repeat viewings, it makes for an entertaining pastime, preferably with an adult libation, solely on Gad’s performance.  He is consistently stellar in his on-screen appearances and seems poised to break the glass ceiling placed on homely, overweight actors.

This film is for folks looking for another interpretation of familiar events, or for those immersed in the cultural misconstruction of white guilt who want to foster their illusion.