Roman J. Israel, Esq. (Denzel Washington) is socially awkward and an idealistic legal savant. He works behind the scene while his well-known work partner William Jackson excels in the courtroom. When William falls into a coma, the two-man practice falls into hands of George Pierce (Colin Farrell). George is a capitalist lawyer more concerned about the money than anything else. Roman tries to find another job but non-profit organizer Maya Alston only has volunteer positions although she very much admires the old school social justice warrior. He grows tired of the struggle against the world and decides to indulge in the corruption.
I appreciate the first hour. While Roman is not an appealing person, I do appreciate Denzel's character work and his idiosyncratic mannerisms. He's the underdog. It's sad but he's worth rooting for. I was expecting a depressing descend but I was not expecting this. His character does an 180. He's doing something completely out of character with the money. I get the turn to get the dirty money but I don't get the turn to use the money that way. That lawsuit is his legacy. Once he has his money, I expect him to use it to fund his lawsuit. It's a wrong turn in the script. I understand the instinct to have the protagonist sin and then pay for his sin. The story would still have his criminal act and his sin remains intact. It's his personality that I don't want to destroy. Without that turn, this would have been an epic in character study.
I appreciate the first hour. While Roman is not an appealing person, I do appreciate Denzel's character work and his idiosyncratic mannerisms. He's the underdog. It's sad but he's worth rooting for. I was expecting a depressing descend but I was not expecting this. His character does an 180. He's doing something completely out of character with the money. I get the turn to get the dirty money but I don't get the turn to use the money that way. That lawsuit is his legacy. Once he has his money, I expect him to use it to fund his lawsuit. It's a wrong turn in the script. I understand the instinct to have the protagonist sin and then pay for his sin. The story would still have his criminal act and his sin remains intact. It's his personality that I don't want to destroy. Without that turn, this would have been an epic in character study.