Marshall Movie Review

“Marshall” is a movie that centers on Thurgood Marshall, a black man who is the main lawyer for the N.A.A.C.P. organization. His goal is to find ‘colored’ people who have been unjustly accused of a crime, and he will work diligently to get them freed. Marshall later becomes the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United State. But this story happens much earlier in his career, in a case that unfolded in 1940 in Connecticut.

Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) gets assigned to a case in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Marshall does not have a law license to practice that state, so the N.A.A.C.P. finds a local lawyer to handle the case and have Marshall as an ‘associate’ attorney in the courtroom. Sam Friedman (Josh Gad) is the local lawyer, who has never tried a criminal case before in his life. Marshall comes to town and completely dominates. Sam is put off by Thurgood’s manner, but he sees that the outsider is loaded with self-confidence and moxie. Sam is Jewish, and he knows a little about feeling like an outsider.

The case involves Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), who is a ‘colored’ man working for a married couple. The wife is Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson). She has accused Spell of attacking her and raping her in her home. She then accuses him of driving her out to a lake and throwing her over a side of a bridge to drown. The local law enforcement has collected testimony and evidence.

They have the local District Attorney named Lorin Willis (Dan Stevens) who is ready to see Spell put away for a long, long time. Spell meets with Marshall and Friedman, and he tells them he is innocent. When the case begins, the Judge (James Cromwell) has no love for outsiders in his court. He orders Marshall to stay in his seat and remain silent. He can assist the main lawyer, Friedman, but he must not speak in court or be an active member of the legal team.

Despite the Judge’s orders, Marshall becomes a useful part of the Spell’s defense team. He instructs Friedman which jurors to select or reject. He and Friedman go out to visit the bridge where the ‘attempted murder’ occurred. They gather evidence and spot clues that the prosecution seems to have missed.

Thurgood Marshall has a very abrupt manner and he has a high regard for himself. This puts him at odds with many people around him, at times including Sam Friedman. Civil Rights for ‘colored’ people were still pretty backwards in the country. Even the Jewish community was met with some discrimination and intolerance. Friedman and Marshall at one point are attacked by loser bigots, but it strengthens the resolve of the two men to see that justice is done.

But any justice for Joseph Spell is a little ways off, because they learn he is an unreliable witness himself. But if they show that there is enough doubt in the testimony of Eleanor Strubing, they can perhaps win the case. What will the jury verdict be? And will Marshall be still in town, or be pulled off on another case and be elsewhere?

“Marshall” is a study of the Civil Rights lawyer in his beginning years out on the road helping the downtrodden black folk to get a fair shot at justice. But actually the main character is found in Sam Friedman. Chadwick Boseman is a perfect choice for the Thurgood Marshall character. But the big surprise is the strength of Josh Gad playing the Sam Friedman role. Boseman is a perfect fit for a true iconic character. However Gad, more noted for light comedy roles, scores major points here.

Thorgood Marshall is self-assured, almost arrogant, at the start of the movie. He is also that same way at the ending, so he shows little character development. Sam Friedman, on the other hand, is settled in doing menial work for insurance companies, and his character really undergoes a great change when he is selected to work with Marshall.  His attitude and his confidence change drastically by the end of the movie.

But nobody would be interested with a movie called “Friedman”. So Marshall is the title and the main character of this movie. But the actual primary character is the main lawyer who is central to the case. After all, Sam Friedman did not go on many years later to become nominated and then be approved to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.