Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)

Directed by: Dan Gilroy | 122 minutes | crime, drama | Actors: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, Lynda Gravatt, Amanda Warren, Hugo Armstrong, Sam Gilroy, Tony Plana, DeRon Horton, Amari Cheatom, Vince Cefalu, Tarina Pouncy, Nazneen Contractor, Niles Fitch, Jocelyn Ayanna, Eli Bildner, Robert Prescott

From the unscrupulous Sergeant Alonzo Harris in ‘Training Day’ (2001), to the honorable Private Trip in ‘Glory’ (1989) to the esteemed pilot with a secret drinking problem Whip Whitaker in ‘Flight’ (2012); Denzel Washington doesn’t mind. He plays just as easily in a solid action film like ‘The Equalizer’ (2014) as in a sensitive court drama like ‘Philadelphia’ (1993). Washington has been considered one of the best actors of his generation for about three decades and earned eight Oscar nominations between 1987 and 2018, two of which were cashed in. Washington received his most recent Academy Award nomination for his lead role in “Roman J. Israel Esq” (2017), written and directed by Dan Gilroy, the man behind the cult hit “Nightcrawler” (2014). For the title role in that film, the actor had to tap from a completely different vein than he is used to. Roman Israel is a curious character, suspected of having an autism spectrum disorder. Socially, he is rather clumsy to say the least; a simple conversation with him never goes smoothly and he keeps his interaction with others to a minimum. With his distinctive dated clothes, huge afro haircut and plastic aviator glasses, he looks like he’s stuck in the 1970s, and so do his ideas. He listens to music from that era and on the wall in his stuffy apartment are posters of political activists of the time, such as Angela Davis and Bayard Rustin. In his house we also see cabinets full of vinyl records and a whole shelf full of peanut butter. Like he never eats anything else. And maybe it is. Roman has a high ‘Rain Man’ content.

But as eccentric as he is, Roman is also a brilliant law expert. He knows the complete criminal code of the state of California by heart and has an inexhaustible knowledge of (historical) criminal cases. He is also an idealist, with concrete ideas about how the legislation should be arranged. As a criminal defense attorney, he functions just fine, as long as he stays behind the scenes at least. For over thirty years, he has worked at a small law firm that takes on many pro bono cases and works for the underprivileged in Los Angeles. His partner William represents the clients in court and Roman throws himself into the law books and paperwork. His orderly life finally collapses when William has a heart attack one day and ends up in the hospital. There is no longer a recovery. Beforehand, William asked one of his former students, George Pierce (Colin Farrell), to sort things out and close the office. When George realizes Roman’s genius factual knowledge, he offers him a job in his own huge and above all very commercial law firm. Because he probably won’t be able to get a job anywhere else, Roman reluctantly accepts the offer. Although he immediately angers the number two in the office, George keeps his hand above his head. He hands him the case of Derrell Ellerbee (DeRon Horton), who is complicit in the murder of a local shopkeeper. To help the boy, Roman makes some curious, atypical jumps that unnecessarily get him into serious trouble.

Denzel Washington is an actor who can completely control a movie. Also in ‘Roman J. Israel Esq.’ the actor is the most important asset, next to the central character. Roman is a memorable figure, who fascinates beyond measure, precisely because of his clumsiness. He seems to have stuck in time and clashes with 21st century mores, which is aptly portrayed in the scene where Roman gives a lecture at Maya Alston’s (Carmen Ejogo’s) political activist center. He asks the men to stand up to make way for the women – which in his eyes is courteous – but the (much younger) women present find his call insulting and condescending. And so Roman manages to say just the wrong thing wherever he goes, so that conflict is always lurking. As a character sketch, ‘Roman J. Israel Esq.’ fascinating and distinctive. That’s why it’s a shame that Gilroy dutifully incorporated a conventional thriller plot into his film and found it necessary to add a (modest) romantic subplot. Roman’s way of getting into trouble comes more or less out of nowhere, because things are fueled by actions that don’t fit at all with Roman as we’ve come to know it. And we don’t get an explanation of why he does this either. Bearing in mind that Gilroy cut 12 minutes from the film after an initial screening to make the film “more efficient,” it’s not surprising that “Roman J. Israel Esq.” doesn’t really feel coherent. As if the screenwriter-cum-director couldn’t choose which direction he wanted his film to go in, so he just lumped all his ideas together and then tried to draw some line in them.

Thanks to Denzel Washington, who plays with full conviction, a sober and rock-solid Colin Farrell and the pleasant atmosphere that Dan Gilroy manages to create, ‘Roman J. Israel Esq.’ nice away. A nice, funky 70’s soundtrack, the stylish sets and characteristic locations in Los Angeles are a pleasant addition. Still, Gilroy doesn’t get what’s in his film. He varies too much between character sketch of a colorful character and conventional action thriller in a court setting and does not dare to make a choice, so that his film does not have the impact it could have had. And who a fascinating figure like Roman Israel really deserved.