Review of Marshall (2017) by Connor S — 06 Nov 2017

Thurgood Marshall was an extraordinary historical figure. He is known for both winning the Brown v. Board of Education case in front of the Supreme Court as well as becoming the court's first black justice. Marshall, however, doesn't tell the story of how Marshall ended segregated schools or joined the Supreme Court. Instead, it turns its attention to a much lesser-known, but still very important case.

Choosing to focus on the Spell trial is a smart move, allowing the movie to tell a true story about a larger than life figure without the audience already knowing everything that happens. There are other ways that Marshall subverts expectations, particularly in how it approaches racial issues, refusing to simplify the issue. Rather than taking place in the Jim Crow south, Marshall is set in the supposedly enlightened north, where racism is alive in its own way. The case itself is not cut and dry, and for a while it could go either way which side is telling the truth. Marshall also manages to portray the nuances of discrimination. The Jewish and white female characters are caught between their discrimination by white men and their higher status than black Americans, especially Josh Gad's (Frozen) Sam Friedman, Marshall's sidekick in the case. Friedman clashes with Marshall because he has to worry about not just how the case will affect his practice, but also about his extended family being threatened by Nazi Germany. Chadwick Boseman (Marvel's Black Panther), for his part is an excellent actor, convincingly playing a competent and confident black lawyer in the face of white supremacy.

Despite the many things Marhsall does right, it still doesn't break new ground in the pantheon of empowerment movies. Most of the plot points, the visual quality, and even the soundtrack closely mirror previous movies like Selma and Hidden Figures. There's even a voice-over in the credits reminding us not to forget the past and that the struggle for equal rights is not over. None of this is to say Marshall is an any way a bad movie. It's a quite good one I hope people will watch, but don't come in expecting a particularly fresh experience.