Review of Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017) by Dawdlingpoet — 27 Nov 2021

It's not often you can say that Denzel Washington plays a socially awkward character but in this film, he does. At times I shared his frustration at other peoples somewhat aggressive or seemingly unfair, snappy type responses to him and at others, I felt frustrated at the somewhat quirky way he dealt with things. There's some decent dialogue present and I could, on a personal level, relate to his inclination to fidget and his discomfort at being challenged by people on a different level. I respected his motivation in terms of being involved in civil rights.

He becomes somewhat of an understated/subtle do-gooder when he (believes he) spots a potentially criminal situation unfolding. It'd be fair to say that this isn't a fast-paced film, neither is it entirely a crime drama. It's more of a slow character drama. There were some scenes in which I appreciated the cinematography used made it have a bit more impact than would otherwise be the case. I think, all in all, it felt a bit of a muddled film in terms of the (or lack thereof) obvious plot development. It's not an especially engaging film or very enticing/entertaining but its alright. Given its a character-driven drama about a person who prefers to stay away from the limelight, then I guess that's sort of a given. I did think Denzel gave a pretty convincing performance as the titular character, seeming believably socially uncomfortable (something I have issues with myself), although I couldn't help but wish there was a little more substance or better context to the plot overall. If you're intrigued to see this in terms of discovering Roman on a personal level, as a character, then I would recommend this, not least because it's Denzel Washington playing a character type I'm not sure I'd otherwise have imagined him doing, given he tends to play assertive action/thriller character roles - I liked the character's precision and philosophical thoughtfulness but otherwise, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as such, no. Make of that what you will.