Aaron Sorkin goes for Oscar gold with 'The Trial of the Chicago 7'

No Content for Old Men

with Matt Craig

Hey movie lovers!

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In this week's newsletter: Oscar movie season has arrived with the release of Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7. Does it live up to the hype? Plus, this newsletter's patron saint Lily James stars in another rendition of Rebecca, so you know I'm going to cover that. And for recommendations, I went full Sorkin with The American President, and I loved revisiting the Netflix rom-com Set it Up. In this week's "Trailer Watch," we've got our first look at David Fincher's highly anticipated Citizen Kane counterfactual, Mank.

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The Trial of the Chicago 7

One could have a fierce debate about who the greatest screenwriter of all time is -- William Goldman, Robert Towne, Billy Wilder, Charlie Kaufman, the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarintino -- but I promise you that conversation will always include Aaron Sorkin. At the very least, his credits define the voice of the modern American "Great Man" archetype: A Few Good Men, "The West Wing," The Social Network, Moneyball, "The Newsroom," Steve Jobs, to name just a few.

The thing no one will ever label Sorkin is subtle. His heroes are always heroic, his dialogue is always impossibly sharp, and his dilemmas can always be solved by decency and the power of a great closing speech. Reality be damned. Cue the swelling string orchestra. Roll the credits.

It's a formula that was an absolute knockout in the 1990s, a decade in which earnestness ruled the roost, and it has been deployed to even greater effect this century when paired with the acid-tipped touch of directors like David Fincher (The Social Network) and to a lesser extent Bennett Miller (Moneyball) and Danny Boyle (Steve Jobs).

Sorkin hopped into the director's chair right around the time that self-serious, too-clever-for-its-own-good style fell out of favor. And with no collaborative force to balance the ship, you get, well, Molly's Game.

Now there's The Trial of the Chicago 7, which follows the aftermath of a Vietnam rally-turned violent in 1968 Chicago. If ever there were a need for nuance and something less than a rosy-eyed view of the world, it's this tale of police brutality, government protest and racism.

It's ironic, because a running argument between the defendants in the trial is whether or not the proceedings should be considered a "political trial" or simply a dispute over the facts of the case. The movie has the same struggle. It clearly, desperately, wants to stand for some sort of political statement that will resonate to us watching in 2020, but doesn't really develop beyond an entertaining depiction of a trial.

Sorkin takes the bad apple approach rather than attacking the system. The judge for the case is a force of total evil for no apparent reason other than to oppose our protagonists (except that it seems to be historically pretty accurate), and even the prosecution's motivation to go after these particular protestors is kinda yadda-yadda'd (again, pretty accurate). That imbalance in the movie leads to pretty frustrating and unsatisfying drama (I'm realizing this is all true to life).

So what you get is a very procedural courtroom docudrama. There's opening statements and witnesses and an entire exchange dedicated to the distinction of "voir dire" and OBJECTION! SUSTAINED! and STRIKE THAT FROM THE RECORD! and basically everything else you'd expect from a 130-minute movie in which roughly 100 of those minutes take place inside the same courtroom.

I'm not one of those people who believes that every movie has to contain deep observations about the world around us. A Few Good Men, for example, is an incredible movie with no real ideas or statements to make. The difference is when you come out with a protest movie marketed as a Protest Movie in a year like 2020. Chants of "The whole world is watching" sound a lot like Sorkin saying "Here's my grand statement about the world!" when in fact it's just a very traditional, old-school exercise in screenwriting.

Of course, the person doing that writing is still Aaron Sorkin. The dialogue is as fast and sharp as ever, irresistible catnip for all of us who wish we were as clever as these characters. And the movie is anchored by no less than half a dozen absolutely knock out acting performances.

Sacha Baren Cohen moves to the front of the Oscar conversation for his portrayal of countercultural leader Abbie Hoffman, as he's given all the funniest and smartest lines in the script and delivers them at an elite level. He proves here that when he's not busy being Borat, he can be one of our best actors.

Eddie Redmayne is Tom Hayden, and, um, yeah I'm not a big fan of Redmayne so I'll leave that one alone, even if Hayden turns out to be the true hero of the movie.

Mark Rylance was born to be a Sorkin lawyer, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II absolutely steals the movie in his limited screen time as Black Panther leader Bobby Seale, and somehow a hippie Jeremy Strong turns out to be my favorite character in the whole movie.

All of which is to say it's a successful movie without being a totally effective one. It will contend for a shelf-load of awards, and hold the interest of any viewer who happens to click on it on their Netflix queue. But it doesn't transcend its immediate events, the type of thing where the credits roll and you're on the usual string-induced Sorkin high and then five minutes later you're wondering what the heck was the point of any of that?

I highly recommend it, despite what I've said here. I have a feeling those with no desire to read deeply into their film experiences with come away with a far different and more positive reaction.

Watch it for yourself and let me know your thoughts!

Streaming Suggestions!

Something New

Rebecca (Netflix): Lily James is the patron saint of this newsletter, and star of this Ben Wheatley adaptation of the classic novel of the same name, alongside Armie Hammer. It's a little disappointing to me that James' career path is less the new Julia Roberts and more the new Keira Knightley, destined to pop up in every Victorian period piece and sappy music movie from here to eternity. I wrote this movie off as another disposable piece of Netflix eye-candy (it certainly is that), discrediting the book that I was forced to read at some point in school and tried to convince myself I hated, and the Alfred Hitchcock film adaptation I never saw (but by all indications is much better than this one!). Let's be clear, the movie is beautiful -- its actors, its elaborate set design, its lighting, its cinematography -- but it turns out to be more than that, a compelling story about insecurity and status propelled by a few key mysteries and plot twists. I can recommend it for any fans of those Knightley period movies, or fans of Armie Hammer and Lily James' perfect faces. That should about cover everyone?

My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix): I have no allusions of objectivity when it comes to Letterman, my bearded godfather. I love the man. And I love his late career turn as deeply thoughtful interviewer to A+++ level stars. His new season dropped Wednesday and includes Kim Kardashian, Robert Downey Jr., Dave Chappelle and Lizzo. That's an insane lineup.

Something Old

The American President (2000): Aaron Sorkin may never be able to top his first script, adapted from his first stage play. I'm talking of course about A Few Good Men, but I'm going to assume you all have had the good sense to see that movie no less than a dozen times by now. We're less than two weeks away from a presidential election, so it seemed appropriate to return to the fairyland where the office of the president was still a dignified position. The movie is incredibly cheesy, and fundamentally flawed (don't date a lobbyist!), but like many Sorkin projects it's irresistible wish fulfillment. He says he used the leftovers from this movie to form the basis for "The West Wing," which is reason enough for its existence, and abundantly obvious from all the walk-and-talk action. If you're like me, you can't get enough.

Something to Stream

Set it Up (Netflix): Somehow, the rosy-eyed depiction of New York City in romantic comedies never ever fails, and even though my memory of this shamelessly formulaic rom-com had faded since its release in 2018, I never forgot the greasy pizza scene up the fire escape. Anyway, this movie exceeded my memory and I think was probably very underrated in the year it came out. It's a crime leads Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell aren't movie stars yet, because they have mega wattage here. On the whole, it's one of those movies where the flaws are obvious yet easily dismissed using the very same verbal devise ("and yet...") employed in the movie's climactic profession of love. It's impossible not to fall for.

Trailer Watch: Mank

David Fincher. Those are the only two words I need to tell you when trying to convince you to watch this movie. The man behind Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network, The Game, and Gone Girl (to name a few) has earned lifetime season tickets from yours truly. This story feels like the ultimate passion project, retracing the odious production process of what many consider to be the greatest film ever made -- Citizen Kane. That obviously hits a sweet spot for me, and could be a great bridge to the golden era of Hollywood for those who still resist exposure to the classics. If you're hesitant because this movie is in black and white and shot like it's from the 1940s, shame on you. I've got two words: David Fincher.