Marshall - Review
This review of Marshall is spoiler-free!
Biopics are a tough task for any filmmaker. No matter the time in film history or the subject matter, having to take someone's life and put it into a two-hour movie is a rather difficult task. Accomplishing this alone is difficult, but even more so it is incredibly difficult to create a biopic that is well received by audiences. Often times we see stories that tend to tiptoe around the idea of a biopic by focusing more on specific events than specific characters. Marshall chooses to buck this recent trend by focusing in on the story of Thurgood Marshall before he became a Supreme Court Justice. With some criticism coming from around the critic world of this movie not necessarily focusing on Marshall, it's time to dive into this movie!
As stated at the top of this article, Marshall follows the story of a young Thurgood Marshall, working as a lawyer for the NAACP. Traveling from state to state defending innocent black men of crimes, he's brought to a confidently Republican Connecticut where the wealthy Mrs. Eleanor Strubling has charged her former chauffeur Joseph Spell of rape and attempted murder. Choosing to work with local Jewish civil Lawyer Sam Friedman, together they tackle the racial barrier and build a case to support Spell's claims of his innocence. Where we have alot of critic complaining about this movie not really being about Marshall, I don't see it as so. This is Thurgood's story through and through, but the fact that others are looked at as main characters doesn't mean it's not his story. It has equal parts of comedy and true seriousness, making it an excellent mix. It most definitely feels familiar rather often but doesn't manage to make you feel like you're watching a retread of something you've seen already.
Speaking of Thurgood Marshall, let's spend some time talking about this portrayal of the famous Justice. Chadwick Boseman is tasked with taking this culturally important and significant icon and making him an enjoyable character on screen. Boseman does with the same excellence we see from him in his other roles, making Marshall a great character who isn't always a super serious man but knows exactly what to do to get the job done. Sometimes it feels a bit easy but as a whole, it's excellent work from Boseman. The other character worth discussing is the surprisingly forward-thinking Sam Friedman, played by Josh Gad. Many people are critical over this portrayal saying he's too comedic, but the movie has made it clear by the time he's introduced that they're not going for a 100% serious tone so the choice to make Friedman rather comedic made it that much better for the movie.
Thinking about the mixture of comedy and drama that this film presents, I was rather satisfied with the overall feeling this film presented. Gad and Boseman work extremely well off one another and I can't help but hope to see more films featuring this dynamic duo of talent. Along with this, getting another great performance from Sterling K. Brown as Joseph Spell only helps to elevate his status in the acting world. His work on This is Us is highly renowned and this only continues to power him through Hollywood. Even though I can't help but imagine just how much more attention this would have gotten if it released post-Black Panther, it was still a great film for Boseman to build up himself in the film world.
Thinking on Marshall as a whole, the story really does focus in on a majorly important moment in the life of Thurgood Marshall. It manages to give you the courtroom drama that you expect from a film of this kind with a healthy mixture of comedy that manages to shift the tone when it feels like it's getting too serious. Don't misunderstand my enthusiasm with this film though for high praise, as I recognize Marshall isn't a perfect movie by any sense of the word. What I do think though is that this movie does right by the man whose life has made a large impact on so many people. Thurgood Marshall was a good man who managed to change the world in more than one way, and Marshall represents the ideals of that man well.
