
In 1940, Thurgood Marshall is a young lawyer for the NAACP who criss-crosses the country defending innocent African-Americans from unjust indictments in court. His latest case is in Bridgeport, Connecticut where an African-American chauffeur is accused of rape of a wealthy white society woman. To admit Marshall into the local Bar, insurance lawyer Sam Friedman is picked over his objections to do introductions in court. However, Friedman's commitment changes drastically when t... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1940, Thurgood Marshall is a young lawyer for the NAACP who criss-crosses the country defending innocent African-Americans from unjust indictments in court. His latest case is in Bridgeport, Connecticut where an African-American chauffeur is accused of rape of a wealthy white society woman. To admit Marshall into the local Bar, insurance lawyer Sam Friedman is picked over his objections to do introductions in court. However, Friedman's commitment changes drastically when the racist judge forbids Marshall to speak in court, forcing Friedman to act as lead counsel. Now in an intolerable situation for the pair, Marshall must guide his new compatriot through this criminal trial even as Friedman endures not only this unfamiliar area of law, but also the bigoted pressure he now must share. However, the case proves more complex than either anticipates with unexpected twists and turns even as it becomes a vital one that would define two careers as well as the fight for justice in America.
Leave your thoughts about Marshall.
| San Francisco ExaminerJeffrey M. AndersonSimply, an important film as well as an entertaining one. |
| Arkansas Democrat-GazettePhilip MartinMarshall is hip and glib, sharp in its pinstripes, a high shine on its shoes. It might feel a tad irreverent to anyone who goes in looking for a sermon. |
| The Stranger (Seattle, WA)Elinor JonesMarshall proves, a movie can be entertaining AND complicated. |
| Seattle TimesMoira MacDonaldMarshall is a handsome, old-fashioned film about a real-life hero, with a message of equality and justice that always bears repeating. |
| Movie MomNell MinowThis is an absorbing drama on many levels, as a courtroom mystery, as a historical depiction of the roots and mechanics of social change, and as a personal story. |
| America MagazineJohn AndersonThe last time a Supreme Court justice got this treatment was never. |
| Cleveland Plain DealerPatrick CooleyI won't give away too many of those details, but suffice to say that each new revelation kept my eyes glued to the screen, providing exhilaration to a movie that seems in danger of devolving into a string of cliches in its first act. |
| Consequence of SoundAllison ShoemakerBoseman, wildly charismatic, captures Marshall as a magnetic figure, and his drive and fervor are intoxicating. |
| St. Louis Post-DispatchCalvin WilsonOne of the freshest and most entertaining films of the year. |
| Cincinnati CityBeattt stern-enziThe true revolutionary stroke of genius here is the decision by screenwriters Jacob and Michael Koskoff to set their story during something other than Brown v. Board of Education. |