Roman J Israel Esq

Cert: 12A; Now showing Denzel Washington has received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Roman J Israel Esq ,a performance unlike any other he has ever given, physically alone the lumbering title character is far removed from anything Washington has done before. Roman is a fascinating character, the premise is promising — and there is Colin Farrell — but Dan Gilroy’s follow-up to Nightcrawler doesn’t fully realise all of that potential. The film opens with Roman J Israel (Washington) establishing a case against himself, the charge is betrayal of everything he has ever stood for. The story goes back a few weeks to when the lawyer, who still wears the fashions of the era that formed him and holds true to his belief in law as an instrument of civil rights, discovers that he is out of a job. A savant with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Californian law, but reduced people skills, he at first resists the offer of work from George Pierce (Farrell). Pierce sees law as a business not a vocation, he and Israel could not be more different but circumstances force Israel to change his mind and the men begin to work together. Israel then does something very much out of character and a set of events unfold.

For all Denzel’s wonderful work (Farrell and moral compass Carmen Ejogo are good but have less to do) there is not enough in the way of plot to make this film satisfying. Also I found that despite a lot of scenario exposition there was not enough explanation for Israel’s out-of-character action so it undermines the film as character study and highlights the lack of plot. Unfulfilled potential alas.