Just Mercy

Based on true events, Just Mercy follows green lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan) as he takes on the case of convicted murderer Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) and attempts to prove his innocence (and, ultimately, prevent his execution). Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has infused Just Mercy with a matter-of-fact sensibility that suits his and Andrew Lanham’s familiar screenplay quite well, as the movie, which progresses at a seriously deliberate pace, hits virtually all of the beats one might’ve anticipated based on the setup – with the movie, then, benefiting substantially from its superlative performances and a smattering of engrossing sequences. (There is, in terms of the latter, an interlude involving a death-row execution that’s nothing short of devastating in terms of its emotional impact.) And while the picture is generally absorbing and compelling, Just Mercy, hindered by a palpably overlong running time, isn’t quite able to become the searing legal drama Cretton has obviously intended – although it’s certainly difficult not to admire the earnestness with which the whole thing has been told.

*** out of ****