Roman J. Israel, Esq.

There are a lot of interesting ideas here that ultimately don’t add up, but that doesn’t take away from 
Denzel Washington’s brilliant performance.

If the blunt question is, “is Roman J. Israel, Esq. a good film?” - my answer, truthfully, is, no, due to its 
lack of cohesion. That being said, I enjoyed it and would recommend it with a few caveats. There are 
parts of it, particularly with its idealism and the misfit/outcast character that is Roman, that feel 
incredibly important and timely. “Important”, however, doesn’t always add up to broadly entertaining. 
Put another way, for those who desire flash and fire, you won’t find them here.

The film is rich and heady with ideas about the role of law in society. Downtown L.A. is an interesting 
backdrop, only partially explored and exploited against its themes. The outstanding soundtrack and 
nods toward the social movements of the late 60’s and early 70’s against the modern landscape are 
put up for consideration early on - which is great...then, unfortunately, they are let down in the larger 
scope of the film. 

Roman is a one man show throughout - all other characters flow through him to support his journey, 
which bobs and weaves. Because of what Denzel brings to each role he takes on, that was plenty 
for me to keep me intrigued and enough for me through the first 90 minutes of the film.

In the third act, when Roman finds himself suddenly on a paranoid road trip toward what seemed to 
be Mexico with Duel-like bad guys in pursuit, it was one too many themes for me. As he stood in a 
desert, spiritually lost, he predictably also lost his connection on his flip phone to Maya (Carmen Ejog), 
a woman he could have had an interesting connection with had Director/Writer Dan Gilroy felt it was 
interesting or worthwhile. Then the camera began to circle Roman in a very heavy-handed fashion 
and the nausea of “oh no none of this is going to add up” came bubbling up in full force. 

Denzel's best actor performance nominations are well-earned, but, as performance is part and parcel 
to a production, the film's lack of structure or commitment to any of its themes will likely keep him from 
taking home any hardware.