Making a historical biographical drama based on a famous African-American figure can be both a challenging and daunting task in itself. The filmmakers are not only tasked with properly bringing that person's story to the screen and remaining true to the facts, but also crafting the story in a way that makes it feel both immersive and engaging for the audience to watch. In the case of Marshall, the filmmakers choose to tell the story of famous civil rights lawyer and activist Thurgood Marshall, with the story focusing on his partnership with Jewish attorney Sam Friedman in one of Marshall's most landmark and pivotal cases. With the filmmakers choosing this specific time period in the celebrated icons career to focus on, they not only manage to give audience a glimpse of his career as a stellar attorney but show the formation of a friendship/legal partnership that changed the face of the Supreme Court forever. The end result is a well-acted and sincere biographical drama, that's undeniably noble in its intentions along with it playing out in the form of an old-school courtroom drama.
Based on a true story, Marshall focuses on the early legal work of crusading lawyer Thurgood Marshall (Played by Black Panther's Chadwick Boseman), who became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice with the film showing him handling one of his most crucial cases through the friendship/partnership with fellow lawyer Sam Friedman (Played by Frozen's Josh Gad). The story for Marshall is one that's well-told and made with the noblest of intentions in celebrating the work of an extraordinary lawyer, who broke down barriers for people of color while pursuing justice for those who've been wrongfully accused. The film is wonderfully acted with both Boseman and Gad carrying it with their strong performances and dynamic on screen chemistry, making the audience root for their characters to succeed in winning their case. The film plays out more like a classic courtroom drama moreso than a biography of Marshall as the film centers around one of his career-defining cases. Despite that main conflict with the story supposed to be a biographical drama, Marshall does well at balancing both with the film leaning more towards being an old-fashioned courtroom drama along with it giving audiences the essence of Thurgood Marshall as both a character and real-life person. The film gives an intimate look at a groundbreaking case that put Marshall on the map in terms of becoming a force in the Supreme Court while showing the different layers of discrimination, both blatant and systemic that both Marshall and Friedman had to fight through in order to prevail with their case. Although the film may come across as feeling formulaic rather than a biographical drama piece on Thurgood himself, the film still provides solid entertainment that'll leave audiences cheering in the end while giving them a glimpse of who Marshall and Friedman were along with how dynamic their pairing was in reversing the trend of wrongful convictions of African-Americans at the time.
One of the films strongest aspects lies within the performances of its main cast. The acting presented here from the cast is strong work with everyone bringing the right attitude and seriousness to their roles. None of the performances here come across as being terrible with everyone feeling as if they're bringing something to the table in regards to telling the story. The best performances come from Chadwick Boseman and Josh Gad in the roles of Thurgood Marshall and Sam Friedman. Both actors appear to be on top form here with Boseman playing Marshall as being calm, collective, and aware of the obstacles him and Friedman face in winning their case. Gad manages to hold his own next to Boseman and delivers solid work as Sam. He makes his character go from being someone whom the audience dislikes at first due to his attitude towards the case, to someone who becomes a champion in fighting for the truth. Sterling K. Brown impresses as Joseph Spell, the man accused of rape and attempted murder whom both Marshall and Friedman end up vigorously defending in court. Brown does a believable job of making his character sympathetic with him shown as feeling helpless at first, then slowly beginning to feel a sense of hope over the course of the trial through witnessing the actions of both Marshall and Friedman in his defense. Kate Hudson does well in her minimal yet effective role as Spell's white employer Eleanor Strubing, who accuses him of rape with the film later revealing that they both consented to having sex. Hudson's role isn't as big as the other main stars, but she manages to make the most of her screentime with playing a character whom the audience essentially despises due to her perjury regarding what actually happened. Other noteworthy supporting roles include Dan Stevens as Strubing's aggressive prosecutor Lorin Willis, James Cromwell as the unfair and biased Judge Foster, and Keesha Sharp as Thurgood's wife Vivien in a small yet effective role. As a whole, the cast for Marshall all deliver performances that range from being strong to terrific with everyone essentially bringing their A game to the film. They do a great job of bringing both intensity as well as a genuine respect for the films subject matter to the screen, with no one feeling as if they came across as being lackluster. They also manage to give the film the heart that was required in order for the audience to connect with both the characters as well as the story. The strength of Marshall as a film was always going to rely on the believability of its cast as well as the realism they help give the story. Thankfully the filmmakers put together a powerful cast, that rises to the occasion with Boseman and Gad delivering commanding performances as the main leads.
The directing by Reginald Hudlin at best serves as being standard work with him giving the story a production, that feels like a rich version of what would've essentially ended up being a made-for-television courtroom drama. The production and costume design are both on point in regards to helping transport audiences back to the 1940's era of the stories setting. The look and style of the film is further enhanced by its strong cinematography, which totally gives off a 1940's style vibe with streets and neighborhoods both looking clean and tidy for their time. The courtroom scenes are well-handled with the camera doing close-up shots of the actors faces to help the audience see the different kind of emotions being carried from the main characters, further emphasizing that the courtroom (As well as the audience) are on the edge of their seat in regards to finding out what happens next regarding both the testimonies and case. The films editing is steadily paced with the story being slow-moving, though appropriately so for the characters and story to feel properly developed and fleshed out. The films soundtrack is effectively composed with the film getting a Jazzy vibe, that helps place the audience into the setting with these characters. In terms of the films overall look and directing style, Reginald Hudlin does solid work here though one never gets the impression that any risks were taken with his approach to telling the story. The strongest moments in the film directing wise are those that take place within the courtroom, as well as the flashback scenes that involve dim lighting and slow-motion shots in adding both suspicion and mystery to the story for those who don't know about the actual case prior to watching the film. Despite the guarded approach that Hudlin gives the story, he manages to check off and include all the essential ingredients required to give the film a visual style and look that breathes life to both the story and characters.
The films screenplay by Michael and Jacob Koskoff, does well with giving audiences a glimpse of who Thurgood Marshall and Sam Friedman were with both being presented as a mismatched pair of lawyers, that became a powerful duo through working together on their case. The script presents some interesting angles regarding the history behind the case such as the firm older judge forcing Marshall to be silent in the courtroom, prompting him to shape Friedman into being a stronger lawyer to argue in his place. The audience gets the feeling of the commanding presence Thurgood Marshall had in the courtroom along with the disapproval that the judge depicted in the film had in regards to being talked back to by a young African-American lawyer. The relationship between Marshall and Friedman is realistically depicted with Friedman's character shown as being reluctant to work with Marshall at first with his heart not being in the case before the progression of their partnership as well as friendship went into effect. Friedman's character is presented as being a young Jewish lawyer, whose inexperienced in dealing with a criminal case prior to meeting Marshall, and doesn't like having the pressure being applied by the former in being shaped to take on the case. What brings both men closer together during the course of the trial and ultimately motivates them to win, is the racism and anti-semitism they contend with by those who deem their client Spell to be guilty. Those moments are powerful in showing the growth of both men as friends and colleagues, because it shows that despite their overall differences, they share common ground and choose to take on a rigged system together through their case. While there are no shocking twists or turns in this story regarding the case both men represent, the revelations that are revealed are surprisingly effective such as the truth behind Eleanor and Joseph's situation. What the script does well is fleshing out and humanizing both main characters so the audience becomes connected with them, as well as understand their motivations for pursuing the case. The audience also gets a glimpse of what it's like to be in both men's shoes during the 1940's era with Marshall being an up-and-coming African-American lawyer, trying to make a name for himself despite dealing with discrimination both in and outside of the courtroom. With Friedman's character, the audience gets a glimpse of what it's like for his character to live in America as a young inexperienced Jewish attorney, whose also being equally unwanted and mistreated in a fashion similar to Marshall with him learning about his family in Europe being wiped out by Nazi Germany. The script works in giving audiences the essence of who both these men were, along with showing how their collaboration and friendship led to their success in freeing their client, as well as challenging racial bias in the courtroom.
As good as the script works in regards to fleshing out it's main characters along with showing their separate lives with their families, the screenplay becomes conflicted when deciding whether it wants to be a biographical drama on Thurgood Marshall or serve as an entertaining and moving courtroom drama about a wrong that was ultimately righted. The script works best when playing out as the latter with glimpses of who Marshall and Friedman were, though the audience never gets the chance to see them begin their careers as lawyers or witness the moments that pushed them towards their chosen profession. Another issue with the film is how safe it ultimately feels in regards to not taking any real risks regarding its plot. The story is one that's well-told by its filmmakers, but it also feels that they were too afraid to take chances here, which is a shame because as good as Marshall turns out to be, it could've ended up being a classic. Perhaps they were too afraid of tarnishing the legacy of a legend whose more than worthy of having their story represented on film, but it's the main reason along with the films uncertainty of what it wants to be that makes Marshall just a good film instead of a potentially great one. There's enough here for audiences to appreciate with the performances being commanding and the directing genuine in paying respects to its main subjects, while driving home a message that stands as being a powerful stamp against bigotry. As the film shows, Thurgood Marshall was a brave and influential man that dared to challenge the system in the cause of doing what's right. Although the film doesn't show his other achievements later in life that's stated in the end credits, it succeeds in showing the effective legal career and type of civil rights hero he was along with Sam Friedman. Anyone who appreciates civil rights history or history buffs in general will appreciate and ultimately be satisfied by the effort Marshall puts on screen in both entertaining as well as informing audiences.
Final Verdict: For history buffs and those interested in black history as well as solid biographical dramas, Marshall is a well-made drama worth watching for both its noble intentions and solid presentation.
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