*What do you get when you grow Denzel Washington’s hair out into a 3” afro, remove the caps from his teeth, give him horn rimmed glasses and put him in shoes that are one size too big and clothes that are very unstylish? Roman J. Israel, Esq. that’s who.
“Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” directed by ‘Nightcrawler” writer/director Dan Gilroy, which opens in limited theaters in Los Angeles and New York today, Friday, November 17 and nationally on November 22, is Denzel’s newest film and to say it is unlike anything he has done in the past would be, well, an understatement.
Roman is a savant criminal law activist attorney with a brilliant legal mind. He is also a relic and a throwback to the 1970s. Everything about him, with the exception of the Ipod and headphones permanently attached to his head, represents the 1970s. His apartment, which he has lived in for 35 years, has posters of 1960s and 70s civil rights activists and a huge collection of albums, not CDs. Roman does not listen to any music beyond 1977.
For decades Roman has been, according to him, “the man behind the curtain” in a two-man law firm, fighting against an unfair criminal justice system. Roman handled the paperwork, while his partner did the courtroom work and as Roman soon learns, the heavy lifting. When his partner and the firm’s front man, William Henry Jackson, is stricken with a heart attack, Roman is forced into the forefront, which means going to court and dealing with judges and prosecutors, something he hasn’t done in decades.
Roman’s idiosyncrasies (e.g., tics, picking his teeth, lack of eye contact), demeanor and social awkwardness are very off-putting; however, his knowledge of the law is undeniable and his awkwardness notwithstanding, when his partner’s family decides to close down the law practice, he is offered a job by George Pierce (Colin Farrell), a former student of Roman’s partner and one whose ideals differ from Roman’s. Roman doesn’t quite fit in at his new firm and it shows.
RELATED NEWS: CLIPS AND CONVERSATION: DENZEL WASHINGTON TACKLES SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES IN ‘ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.’
Roman’s awkwardness is displayed in various ways, from the fact that he says whatever is on his mind to not knowing how to ask for a date when he becomes interested in activist/advocate Maya Alston (Carmen Ejogo), someone who although younger than Roman, actually gets him. I’ll have to admit that I found the childlike reaction Roman displayed towards Maya kind of endearing.
Roman’s life takes a dramatic turn based on a single un-Roman like choice he made and things unravel rather quickly and lead to an interesting and unforeseen conclusion.
I was fixated on Denzel Washington’s transformation. I knew I was looking at Denzel, but I wasn’t looking at Denzel. Gone was the smooth, charismatic, self-assured, well-dressed, well-groomed man with nice teeth. The afro, the gap, the slouch, the shuffling gait when he walked, the ill-fitting very old throwback clothes, the awkwardness; none of that was the Denzel Washington I have seen over the last four decades. Denzel threw himself into the role and made me believe he was a legal savant on the autism spectrum. That’s what great actors do and Denzel is a great actor.
Although “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” touched on social justice issues, I would have liked to have seen some of them expanded upon.
If you are a Denzel Washington fan, add “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” to your list of must see movies and if you’re not a fan, add it anyway, if for no other reason than to see Denzel being un-Denzel like.
“Roman J. Israel, Esq.” opens in limited theaters in Los Angeles and New York today, Friday, November 17 and nationally on November 22. Get MORE information HERE.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected].
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