Roman J. Israel, Esq. [DVD]

The movie becomes clear once you realize that Denzel Washington's character is on the Autism Spectrum. This knowledge puts his decision making skills into perspective. He is smart, knows every citation back to front and front to back, but the Autism causes him to have "mind blindness" as defined by "people with autism are unable to form an awareness of others' thoughts". He says things and doesn't realize that what he says is sometimes off-putting and causes people to dislike him. Especially, when he is dealing with the case of the young man in prison and the other accomplice. Roman J. Israel Esq. is a fabulous movie and I highly recommend watching it.

Make no mistake: Roman J. Israel dives right into the down and dirty world of the judicial system when he has to. He has to, of course; otherwise, there would be no story. Just Mr. Israel researching and writing briefs in the lonely backroom of a law office that eventually ceases business when the only other attorney suffers a heart attack.It hurts to see what happens when he ventures into the activities such as visiting clients. It is a brief holiday when Colin Farrell's character, a successful lawyer who hires Roman, appears on the screen. Colin does know how to dress.Roman, alas, does not. Tne interaction between the two lawyers is uncomfortable to watch. There is a reason for Israel avoiding eye contact most of the time: his head is full of the ideas of the law and the cases, not the nuances of a white-shoe law firm.For Denzel fans, this is a treat. He is not Denzel. He IS Roman.

I watched it because I love Denzel as a wholesome Hollywood-Type and he was excellent in this film. I can't figure out what was missing from the movie but I know it wasn't Denzels acting.Mrs H

We enjoyed this movie and recommend to others.

I like Denzel regardless

Movie was slow.

Roman J Israel ESQ is great movie very entertaining. Somehow, I missed out on the reviews and or marketing because this movie is fantastic. Denzel Washington was nominated for an Academy Award, his acting was excellent. Mr. Israel is an attorney, a geek, a quasi character like in the movie Rain Man ( Tom Cruise and D. Hoffman ) Roman is described as a savant, great memory for details, he writes briefs and does 1st rate research etc. Roman has poor social skills. He is definitely not a trial lawyer. Upon the death of the law firm’s founder, Roman has to navigate on his own ( it was a two person law firm anyway) so Roman makes friends and enemies. One of the interesting highlights of the movie is Roman and Colin Farrell ( Pierce ) and how they get along. Roman has been writing this massive brief trying to explain how the courts and the legal system operate to deny defendants a fair trial, how unfair the system is. The brief is really, really massive, possibly 3500 clients a quasi class action cause. Roman also gets greedy, he gets his hands on a big pile of cash ( 100k ) and it costs him his life. If you like legal dramas this move might be for you. I like reading law cases and doing research when I can. There have been some great legal movies: Michael Clayton, The Firm starring Tom Cruise, A Few Good Men ( Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson ), The Pelican Brief, Anatomy of a Murder, finally Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Where Roman J Israel Esq ranks will be up to you the reader of my review. All I saying is this is a damn good movie. Hopefully, Denzel will get the proper accolades and acknowledgments for this performance. This is my review, as they say “ Beauty is in the eye of the beholder “…so get the movie and be entertained.

For someone who knows next to nothing about the criminal justice system, this movie really shed a light on the inner workings of the men and women working in and around it. Great direction, supporting cast, and narrative, I highly recommend this film!

This is a Denzil film that didn't get enough promotion and spotlighting. Critics didn't praise it and it seemed to disappear quickly without much attention. Maybe because he plays a more "nerdy" type of "anti-hero", something we've not seen before from Denzil. The film also doesn't sit in one style - it's a drama, a mystery, etc.But IMO, this is a very good film, worthy of multiple viewings. Denzil becomes the character, and I think it's one of his best performances. Colin Farrell also gives a great sparring role, which is appropriately under stated for him. The entire film seems well casted and well filmed.I'm not going to give anything away about the plot, but the only real complaint about the film is the ending, which not only takes you by surprise but seems too abrupt. In a way, it makes sense that way, but I'll let you decide for yourself.The film looks and sounds great on blu-ray. There are special features for Denzil and Colin, a making of featurette and interviews. Everyone says how passionate they were about making this underdog of a film.Try to film it at a discounted as the price seems to fluctuate a lot. When I first looked at it, the price was much lower and so was the film rating. It seems that people are suddenly discovering or rediscovering how good the film is, and ratings have improved and the price has gone up too.The film is now on Netflix and/or some of those services, but who knows for how long. Give it a try or even a second try and I think you'll be hooked.

Denzel as usual delivering a solid performance. not an action movie. i guess Action movies pay the bills. and leaves him room to do roles like this for the love of it.a rare very rare breed of Actor that you can watch him in the same film over and over again and never tire of it. i think he may even be in a league of his own.

keeps you in suspense until a twist at the end.great

Ich verstehe die negativen Bewertungen nicht, obwohl Filme immer Geschmacksache sind!Wenn ich Action sehen will kaufe ich ihn nicht!Ich liebe auch Filme, und dazu gehört er definitiv nicht, bei denen ich nicht mitdenken, mitleiden und mithoffen kann.Wer aber einen grossartigen Drama-Thriller mit einem GROSSARTIGEN Denzel und einem ebenso grossartigen Farell sehen will, der ist hier richtig.Er spielt so glaubwürdig, dass er die Person IST- und ich mich ärgerte, traurig war, hoffte, dass alles gut kommt. Der Regisseur ( Bonus ansehen!) hat recht! Ohne Denzel göbe es diesen Film nicht und er ist berührend! Auch Farells Wandlung absolut grosses Kino! Aber eben.... mitdenken und sich einlassen!

As usual Denzel Washington knocks it out of the park. A very good film with a engaging and thought provoking performance from the man himself. If you are a fan of thought provoking films and Denzel Washington then this is the film for you.