Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Eddie Redmayne head an impressive cast in prolific screenwriter-tuned-director Aaron Sorkin’s compelling new drama The Trial of The Chicago 7. The film, Sorkin’s second ever outing as director after Molly’s Game in 2017, recounts the story of a group of anti-Vietnam War protesters charged with conspiracy and inciting riots at a Chicago rally.
In the summer of 1968, a group of activists, conscientious objectors and assorted hippies converged on Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention to protest the war in Vietnam. Following police brutality against them, riots erupted and arrests were made which later resulted in a headline-grabbing court case against the organisers.
Amongst those protesters were legendary Jewish anti-war activist Abbie Hoffman (Baron Cohen), political activist Tom Hayden (Redmayne) and Black Panthers leader Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Richard Schultz, the young and ambitious prosecutor ordered by the US Attorney General John Mitchell (a brief yet memorable turn courtesy of John Doman) to open a federal case against the protestors, while Mark Rylance is electrifying as Bill Kunstler, the group’s brilliant and long-suffering lawyer.
Part court-room drama, part historical biopic, The Trial Of The Chicago 7 has been languishing in development hell since 2007. Sorkin originally wrote the screenplay and intended for Steven Spielberg to direct the film, but the production had to be shelved after Spielberg dropped out amidst the 2007 Writers Guild of America strike.
