Good Morning Lovelies, 

If you have seen the film, Nightcrawler, then you will know lovelies that director Dan Gilroy doesn’t make films with usual characters. His figures pack a punch and leave you thinking about them for days due to the actions he captures with his camera. In Roman J Israel, Esq he uses Denzel Washington to do just this.

Focusing on the life of civil rights lawyer Roman J Israel, the film sees the actions he takes when he starts a new job after the death of his partner. Working alongside Colin Farrell, Washington manages to demonstrate just how fragile Roman is to the audience with small details that show how his mind works in times of stress and heartbreak. 

Nominated for a number of awards, the film draws you into the life and story of a man that you will soon find it hard to believe isn’t actually a real person. The gentle and fragile nature of the mind and work that Washington shows Roman doing seems like something you really could imagine someone doing. However, it is all down to superb acting.

It is obvious to see why Gilroy has chosen these actors. Washington seems like the only man who could make this character pop in the way he does, whilst Farrell brings his charming nature to the film. Even when he is being a quite dark figure. Each scene they share together is compelling and brings back that Nightcrawler atmosphere of never knowing how a moment might leave you feeling.

However, the film doesn’t capture you in as much as Nightcrawler managed to. Whilst Washington gives one of his best performances, the story doesn’t stay in your mind long and it soon becomes a film that if mentioned you can recall, but you have forgotten about a few days later.  Don’t get me wrong Gilroy has made a feature that will have you thinking, but with so much trouble and conflict, the characters become a bit jumbled at times in a tango with the story that doesn’t have much of a flow.

The film is a feature to make you watch Washington and fall in love with him even more. It highlights how his talents are unstoppable and gives you an inside look at a man who you forget isn’t real. There is love, family, politics, and war at the heart of it, but the acting is what you will be left with.

There so, I am giving it…