The Trial of the Chicago 7

Directed by Aaron Sorkin (2020)

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is an inspiring, irritating, and (mostly) informative dramatization of the trial of seven leaders of anti-war protest groups which met in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

 I was left inspired by the seven's ability to stick to their morals and goals: throughout the movie, different characters made it a point to continue to focus on what they were protesting (the Vietnam War), with a detriment to their probability of an innocent verdict. Obviously this was hotly contested by other members of the seven, but it was inspiring to see some so intent on furthering their cause. Also, the stoner characters who were behind it did it in a quite funny and entertaining way.

 I was severely irritated by the incompetency of the judge presiding over the case - Julius Hoffman was presented as senile, racist, and completely biased, so much so that, to me, it almost took away from the film. At times I was laughing at how ridiculous the judge was being, and it made the trial feel less important. Perhaps this was somewhat historically accurate, but it was just so hard to believe.

I said this movie was informative because, well, it is. My roommates and I had never heard of the Chicago 7, or the riots at the 1968 DNC, before watching this movie. Some might call us young, dumb and uninformed Gen Z-ers, but I like to think we are a diverse group of college educated adults who are reasonably informed. My point is, no matter if we are actually just young and dumb or not, I feel like the contents of The Trial of the Chicago 7 should be talked about a lot more - what went down was insane! Earlier I added the disclaimer "mostly" before saying this movie was informative, because as a dramatization this movie takes a rather large creative license and I'm sure adds some ahistorical content. It works though, and the film does a great job of entertaining while also highlighting an underrated historical  event. (02/13/21)