Maya Hall
Lantern Staff
The new movie in theaters based on true events called Just Mercy, released on Christmas Day visualizes the events of the criminal case against a man named Walter McMillian in 1987. The film stars Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson.
The film begins by showing the initial arrest of Walter McMillian (Foxx) for the murder of an 18-year-old white woman as he was driving home from work. Then Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) is introduced, the young lawyer who recently graduated from Harvard and heads to Alabama set on assisting inmates on death row who cannot afford efficient legal help.
Stevenson partners up with Eva Ansley (Larson), and the two set up an office and begin taking on clients. One of their first clients just so happens to be Walter McMillian, who was put on death row a year before his trial despite legitimate evidence and witnesses proving his innocence.
The rest of the movie showcases the fight for McMillian’s release that takes perseverance, hope and strong will against the racism and political issues they face throughout the years of challenging the case.
This film provides a strong message about the unjust nature in the judicial system against the underprivileged and shows the qualities of a biased court system, and does so in a successful and moving way.
With strong performances by Jordan, Foxx and Larson the audience is fully engaged with the emotions and struggles of the characters. The passion is seen, heard and felt throughout the whole movie.
Spoiler alert: I would say the climax of the film is the scene where a fellow inmate of McMillian who is also on death row without proper legal care, reaches the date of his sentence and is sent to the electric chair. Inmates throughout the facility are shown banging on their bars and making noise for the man as he prepares himself in the chair; it is a highly emotional scene and even hard to watch. It pushes the viewers to think deeply about the situation and pulls you into the story more, making it a pivotal part of the plot.
Whenever things did not go in favor of Stevenson and McMillian, it was frustrating. This goes to show how the plot and the actors’ performances capture the audience into the story, almost as if they are experiencing it themselves.
Overall, Just Mercy is a great movie that I would recommend to anyone. It tells an amazing true story that deserves to be heard and possesses a lot of passion. I give it an 8.5 out of 10.
