I watched this film twice, once at home and once in a car theater. Because of the many characters, the lines are so fast and exciting, I really couldn’t keep up the first time I watched it. Later I did some background research and I felt a lot better. NS. The purpose of this film is mainly to restore the tortuous and ridiculous process of the entire incident, and how a peaceful demonstration evolved into a large-scale bloody conflict and a long and chaotic court trial. Although this happened decades ago, it is no stranger to the current people and is closely related to reality. Moreover, the Internet age has made such conflicts more intense and the noise has also become louder.
The film is adapted from a real event. In 1969, seven civil-rights activists were charged with conspiracy for holding anti-democracy activities during the Democratic Party Congress in Chicago the previous year. This became one of the important events of the civil-rights movement in the 1960s. .
This was originally an anti-Vietnam war rally before the general election. It was originally peaceful, but because the crowd suddenly shouted: "Come on!" The result was a riot, and the police started violent-demonstrative-demonstrations. And seven leaders were also arrested. But the problem is that they were not sentenced immediately, but were prosecuted only a year later. This is mainly due to the political and environmental impact. Some people want to kill chickens and monkeys, and hope they will pay for it. However, the seven defendants made strange things in court, and the defense lawyers were quite casual. The trial of the "Chicago Seven Gentlemen" became the most comical trial in American history. In 1972, the "seven gentlemen" who were convicted and not guilty were all released, overturning the judge's sentence. This case caused a nationwide reflection on judicial ethics and court order.
I won't talk about the plot because of the sensitivity of the subject matter. But I think the biggest advantage of this film is of course the dialogue. This is what Sorkin is best at, and although it is not directed by David Fincher this time, the rhythm and framework of the film is the same as that of the Social Network film (also written by Sorkin) very alike. In the first few minutes (don't miss it), the personality characteristics of several main characters are shown with sharp editing and quick dialogue. The following court scenes were also quite exciting, and they truly restored the “chaos, weirdness, and absurdity” of the court order at that time. Basically, such court scenes are rarely seen in other film and television works. The judge was really yelling while pulling his neck. The level of farce was about the same as the defense of the candidates in the US election a few days ago.
"Little Freckles" Eddie Redmayne, "Porat" Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong and Alex Sharp plays the four of the "Seven Gentlemen", "囧瑟夫" Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the prosecutor, and Mark Rylance as the defense lawyer. These people play the most roles, and they are often group plays. The dialogue is closely connected. Each scene is like a game. The ball is kicked between a few people, often with surprising words, and the rhythm is very fast. It is difficult to stop and breathe, and the audience needs to concentrate to keep up. Michael Keaton played the Attorney General appointed by President Lyndon Johnson and appeared in the back. He looked like a hero. The play in just a few minutes was quite popular and left a deep impression on people.
This script was written by Spielberg 13 years ago when he asked Sorkin to guide him, but there were a lot of setbacks and delays in the process. In the end, Sorkin wanted Sorkin to play on his own and requested that the film must be in this year’s general election. Previously released. After Lao Chuan took office, many incidents in the United States seemed to be "historical repeats." Like the United States in the 1960s and 70s, similar conflicts between police and civilians continued. There were also various incorrect statements and conspiracy theories on the Internet, which caused confusion. The people are divided, this phenomenon is exactly what this story wants to show, and it is very suitable.
Sasha Byron Cohen was the one chosen by Old Si 13 years ago. He was very persistent in the film. After hearing that Sorkin got the script, he quickly called to ensure that he could continue to act. In addition to acting as a hippie leader, this film can be regarded as his own more serious performance, with many speech lines. Eddie’s role this time is the student leader of the Democratic Movement. He may be the one with the most lines he has ever played. He is still relatively calm and restrained. However, there are several impassioned dialogues that show the nature of young people’s impulsiveness and anger, but in the end He is still the clearest of the few people; Jeremy Strong’s performance is the most joyful. In addition to the hippie dress, this character is also the most impulsive and emotional; "囧瑟夫" is slightly buried because of him. The character is a bit dull, far inferior to that of the seven-person defense attorney starred by Mark Rylance, who is basically the person with the most golden sentences in the film. In general, the cast of the film is outstanding.
In this film, I was impressed by a key point of the debate, that is, who started the police-civilian conflict first. Although seven people were arrested, they were not the creators of the conflict. In the end, the public confirmed that the police actually acted first. of. But in such a chaotic situation, one person in the crowd shouted "Come on", it is difficult to tell who caused it, and it is easy to blame the seven people. This is the essence of many conflicts and controversies. When the noise is very loud and the situation is difficult to control, a rumor or misinterpretation by a person may become a "fact" and be widely disseminated. This is especially true in the Internet age. This is why the film is very meaningful in this era. At the same time, the film also shows the influence of young people on politics, many times they are indeed the creators of history.
Although all seven people in this film participated in this pro-democracy movement, they became scapegoats. There are more political-political conspiracies behind this trial, but because these seven people are just ordinary people and have no background, innocent people have become victims of political-political revenge. However, the public has seen the unfair treatment they have encountered, and they have received support and help from many people during the period. Justice will not be late. In the face of injustice, there will always be many people who will stand up to those who have been wronged and uphold justice.
In fact, this film also tells about the consequences that anger can sometimes lead to. Many people have good intentions, but driven by anger, they often say or do irrational things. For example, these young democracy-movement leaders once had the determination to fight the war, but the direction of things often lost control, preventing them from continuing their true goals. Many disputes and conflicts have caused people to forget the good original intentions in the end. This is also a lesson left to us by a lot of history. And mapping to the present, the truly peaceful and effective way to express the dissatisfaction of the American people with the current political situation is through elections, which is why the film must be released before the general election this year.
This incident was also regarded as attracting the attention of the world media and the public at that time, but because of the large number of characters and the complicated process, it is usually presented in the form of TV dramas and documentaries. This is the first time that it has been adapted into a feature film. Personally, it is very challenging. It was adapted once, but in the end the screenwriter made a war of words interesting, and every character was very vivid. This film will have the most advantage in the best screenwriter award and group performance award in this year's Oscars season.
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