Movie Review: 'Just Mercy' Sturdy Moving Real Life Court Drama

Destin Daniel Cretton is a filmmaker of subtlety and style. His Short Term 12 is a low key masterpiece about the issue of adoption, abuse and what happens to older kids lost in a system out of their control. Cretton followed that up with bold box office failure of The Glass Castle, a quite good drama that was unfortunately too drab in its approach to material people absolutely adored in Jeannette Walls’ wonderfully confessional life story.

Now, in his third pairing with star Brie Larson, Cretton has made a very solid, very mainstream drama but delivered it with dignity befitting the subject. Just Mercy may be reserved and staid in its approach to a big, meaty dramatic story, but the restraint worked for me in ways that a more broad, emotional approach might have overwhelmed the genuinely important story being told about our broken justice system.

Just Mercy is based on the true story of lawyer Bryan Stevenson who created a legal niche for himself coming out of law school. Bryan saw a need for someone to defend those placed on death row who did not receive adequate representation at trial. With help from the NAACP and the SPLC, he began a foundation in Alabama, a state plagued by a racist justice system that was basically a feeder system for the prison industrial complex.

There were dozens of men, mostly African Americans, who’d been placed on death row in Alabama and seemingly forgotten by most of society. It doesn’t take long for Bryan to find out just how dire the situation is. Bryan begins hearing the stories of these death row inmates and immediately finds holes in their representation at trial and in the verdicts handed down. One case in particular however, proves to be among the most egregious.

This case involves a demonstrably innocent man named Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx). When Bryan meets Walter, he finds a man completely broken by the system, a man who has given in to despair. It will take time but Bryan eventually gets through to Walter and their relationship and friendship will build toward a landmark moment in the American legal system, one that is emotional without being embarrassingly sentimental.

The key to Just Mercy is appreciating the dignified and respectful approach of director Destin Daniel Cretton. At every turn, Cretton and star Michael B Jordan, and co-star Brie Larson, resist the urge to go for the easy emotional beat. Instead, the movie presents Bryan as a charismatic professional who is dogged and his determination in working on behalf of these desperate men is what is compelling rather than easy targets such as southern sheriff caricatures or big emotional pleas for tears

Just Mercy isn’t intended to pry tears from your eyes. The intent is surely inspirational and uplifting in terms of encouraging people to always seek justice, to always seek mercy, but the film doesn’t beg you to be moved, it invites you. Too often, filmmakers cannot resist the easy pleas to pluck tears with tell don’t show monologues and manipulative music scoring. Just Mercy is not that movie.

The score of Just Mercy, must by Joel P. West, is a fine and sturdy one that lays in perfectly as underscore to the action without ever becoming unbearable or pushy. The same can be said of the cast who remain thoughtful and restrained throughout. Director Cretton smartly recognizes that his cast is inherently compelling and that he doesn’t need to push the audience around to compel them to care. Jordan, Larson and Foxx are irresistible performers who compel us with ease.

Just Mercy is not flashy and loud which will likely hold the movie back at the box office. But, those who give the movie a chance will find a lovely drama about an important subject that inspires you to want to help. Bryan Stevenson’s real life story is treated with great respect and dignity in Just Mercy and it is perhaps the best possible way to tell this important story. I highly recommend Just Mercy for fans of court procedural, great drama and respectful storytelling.

Just Mercy is available for On-Demand rental as of April 14th, 2020.