The Trial of the Chicago 7              5 stars

It may be a cliché to say it but if you see one new movie this holiday season make it The Trial of the Chicago 7. While not a documentary, writer/director Aaron Sorkin has put together a dramatic recreation of the 1969 federal trial of the leaders of the protests held in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. The movie is mainly a courtroom drama with eight defendants charged with conspiracy to incite a riot. It blends in archival footage of the Chicago riots and flashbacks showing the protests that started in Grant Park. I was too young at the time of the trial to be aware of it, but I do remember the news of the riots and some of the names of the main participants. While not a completely accurate portrayal of the trial, it does show real events like Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers being bound and gagged in the courtroom and the testimony of the former Attorney General Ramsey Clarke. The movie is supported by several first rate performances including Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden of the Students for a Democratic Society, Sasha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman and Jeremy Strong as Jerry Rubin of the Youth International Party (Yippies), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale, and Mark Rylance as William Kunstler, the liberal defense attorney for the defendants. Frank Langella is notable as the judge Hoffman who frequently loses control of the trial and frequently hands out contempt charges. Michael Keaton makes a brief dramatic appearance as Attorney General Ramsey Clarke who severely damages the government’s case. (It’s too bad the judge wouldn’t let the jury hear it.) The movie serves as a reminder of what the country went through in 1969 and how easy it is to lose our constitutional freedoms and as an education to those who weren’t here to see the events. It’s a safe bet to be nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award as well as a few others.