Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Grade: C

I was having a conversation at dinner with some friends the other night, and somebody wondered if actors feel conflicted if they receive an award for a performance they didn’t think was their best. They are obviously happy to get it, but would they be like “why didn’t I win for that other thing instead?” It’s an interesting question, and one I’d never considered. I will say that since Denzel Washington didn’t win the Oscar last year for Fences, he’d better hope he doesn’t nab it this year for Roman J. Israel, Esq. – which he produced and stars as the title character. By all appearances, this is not a biopic, but a fictional character and story, which comes as absolutely no surprise to me. I found it boring and pointless.

I will tread as carefully as possible, but I can’t talk about some frustrations I had with the movie without spoiling, or at least heavily hinting at some plot points. If you like a lot of mystery, and have yet to waste your time viewing this film, then scroll down to see the grade and save the rest of the review for later.

Washington’s work is fine, understated, but ultimately futile and one-dimensional. He has wild hair, a big gangly smile, and a gap in his two front teeth, David Letterman style. Roman J. Israel, the person, is a bumbling, awkward, but knowledgeable lawyer, with a Rain Man like memory. Roman J. Israel Esq, the movie, plays like a lazy attempt at a Shakespearian tragic hero. Roman has a fatal flaw which gets him into trouble, and then he calmly and willingly accepts his consequences, with little to no conflict or kicking and screaming. Meanwhile, nothing changes, nobody learns a thing (not that there’s anything to learn), the page is turned, and it’s back to business as usual. When an unrevealable thing happens to an unrevealable character near the end, I wondered who did it. And why. And how. But we are literally left in the dark. We hear a sound effect, and then guess what – we just don’t see that character again.

Sometimes I do miss the boat. I had unpopular opinions about The Post, Moonlight, Call Me By Your Name, and the first Guardians of the Galaxy, so what a relief it is to consult the user comments on IMDB and movie review websites for Roman J. Israel Esq and be able to say “oh good – it wasn’t just me.”

Grade: C