The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

It’s a dialogue-heavy courtroom drama with all the humour, high-stakes intensity, and fiery one-liners (“What’s your price?” “My life”) of an action film. The script and editing masterfully ramp up the pre-, during-, and post-protest tension simultaneously (adding in Abbie’s stand-up was a cool touch) and the cast is excellent (Rylance and Cohen are standouts). The prominence then disappearance of Seale’s poignant sub-plot is the only real misstep here (the ending is schmaltzy but effective).

9

Private Life (2018)

Almost perfectly crafted (the titles were unnecessary), with thoughtful music and camerawork (the handheld sequences were a nice touch), great turns (the main trio is magnetic), and a beautiful script (see the many beginning/end parallels) that naturally capture all the awkwardness, beauty, and pain not just of fertility treatments but of family, marriage, and growing up/old. Some threads are left hanging (see Sadie’s “our baby” comment), but that’s the way life goes (see the cliffhanger end).

9

The Highwaymen (2019)

A pair of Texas Rangers come out of retirement to catch the infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde. (IMDb)

Old-timey feeling, and in a good way (aside from being a little long..in the tooth), with aging protagonists (with great chemistry) appreciably not dressed up as action stars (see their post-chase wheezing), a gorgeous folksy soundtrack + Americana landscapes cinematic combo, and a tried and true buddy cop plot. Hints at deeper themes (criminals’ humanity–see Hamer with Clyde’s dad–and police violence: see Maney’s mesmerizing story around the card table) are unfortunately never followed up upon.

7/10 (Good)