‘I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think we could win...’
While the death of Chadwick Boseman was obviously a great tragedy, I hadn’t seen enough of him in life for it to have much of an impact. I didn’t really get the hype around Black Panther and most of his other major roles had passed me by. Marshall then felt like the perfect opportunity to address this balance – critically acclaimed, fascinating story and a warm reaction from cinema goers – this is the one. I left Reginald Hudlin’s film with a better understanding of Boseman’s talent and for that I am glad…
Thurgood Marshall (Boseman) is a crusading civil rights lawyer who finds himself at the centre of a career defining case. After being denied the privilege of speaking during the trial, he enlists the help of Jewish lawyer Sam Friedman (Josh Gad). Together, the two lawyers must defend the honour of accused rapist Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown) against the white accuser Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson), an uncompromising judge (James Cromwell) and an unscrupulous prosecutor (Dan Stevens). It’s all very To Kill a Mockingbird.
This was a film of revelations for me. Having arrived at Marshall believing Boseman to be overrated and Josh Gad to be downright annoying, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong on both counts. Boseman puts in a commanding and assertive performance here, befitting of the great man that he portrays, and Gad is a revelation as his initially bumbling sidekick that grows into a more than competent defence attorney.
Marshall is familiar ground in this genre. We’ve seen many of these characters and tropes before and if it wasn’t a true story, there would be serious questions about the plotting. Aside from a vague air of predictability however, Marshall is a well acted, well directed biopic that also packs an emotional punch, particularly in light of Boseman’s passing. As good an introduction to his body of work as any.