Above is the first trailer for Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7, a film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin of The West Wing fame and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip infamy. The movie tells the story of the seven protestors arrested and tried for inciting a riot after peaceful protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention turned anything but peaceful. It was a landmark case related to government overreach and freedom of speech and assembly.
The movie has an absolutely bonkers cast including Sacha Baron Cohen (going for his first acting Oscar nomination), Yahya Abdul-Matteen II, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael fuckin’ Keaton, Eddie Redmayne, Mark Rylance, Jeremy Strong, Frank Langella, John Carroll Lynch and more. That’s a murderer’s row of accomplished and talented chaps. This thing is packed with acting powerhouses.
Despite what some say, I think Aaron Sorkin is close to brilliant a lot of the time. When he misses, he misses hard. But when he’s on, boy oh boy, he is on. And while he can often be preachy, nothing gets him more fired up than politics and The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be loaded with that. He’s also been on a roll lately with making biopics or movies based on real events so it seems his hot streak will continue with Chicago 7. Everything is lining up for something special here, let’s hope this is one of Sorkin’s hits and not one of his misses.
Netflix is releasing the film in select theaters this month and streaming it starting October 16, just weeks before Election Day and, not coincidentally, right at the start of Hollywood awards season. Perhaps The Trial of the Chicago 7 will have an influence on both.