Marshall (film)

Marshall
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Reginald Hudlin
Starring	Chadwick Boseman Josh Gad Kate Hudson Dan Stevens Sterling K. Brown James Cromwell
Cinematography	Newton Thomas Sigel
Edited by	Tom McArdle
Music by	Marcus Miller
Production companies	Starlight Media Chestnut Ridge Productions Hudlin Entertainment
Distributed by	Open Road Films
Release dates	September 20, 2017 (2017-09-20) (Howard University) October 13, 2017 (2017-10-13) (United States)
Running time	118 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12 million
Box office	$9.5 million

Marshall is a 2017 American biographical legal drama film directed by Reginald Hudlin and written by Michael and Jacob Koskoff. It stars Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, and focuses on one of the first cases of his career. It also stars Josh Gad, Kate Hudson, Dan Stevens, Sterling K. Brown, and James Cromwell.

Principal photography began in Los Angeles in mid-December 2015. The film premiered at Howard University on September 20, 2017, and was released in the United States by Open Road Films on October 13, 2017. It received positive reviews from critics but grossed just $9 million against a $12 million budget.

Plot

In 1940, Thurgood Marshall is an NAACP lawyer travelling the country defending people of color who are wrongly accused of crimes because of racial prejudice. Upon his return to his New York office, he is sent to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to defend Joseph Spell, a chauffeur accused of rape by his white employer, Eleanor Strubing, in a case that has gripped the newspapers. In Bridgeport, insurance lawyer Sam Friedman is assigned by his brother to get Marshall admitted to the local bar, against his will. At the hearing, Judge Foster, a friend of the father of prosecutor Lorin Willis, agrees to admit Marshall, but forbids Marshall from speaking during the trial, forcing Friedman to be Spell's lead counsel. Marshall must guide Friedman through notes, such as when he advises Friedman to allow a woman of Southern white descent into the jury because of her assertive and questioning personality.

Spell swears to Marshall that he never had any sexual contact with Strubing, and leads the lawyers to a patrolman who stopped Spell that night while he was driving Strubing's car. Marshall and Friedman investigate Strubing's story that Spell tied her up in the back seat of her car after raping her, and then drove to a bridge to throw her over. They wonder why Spell appeared to throw her over the calm side instead of the side with rapids. Spell is initially interested in a plea bargain offered by Willis, but Marshall talks him out of it. Later on at trial, though, a doctor testifies to finding pieces of skin underneath Strubing's fingernails, as well as bruises. Strubing herself testifies that she was tied in the back seat when the patrolman pulled Spell over. With this information, Marshall and Friedman confront Spell, who admits that he was lying about not having sexual contact with Strubing.

At trial, Spell testifies that Strubing's husband inflicted the bruises through repeated acts of spousal abuse. That night, he went to see Strubing for an advance on his salary, finding a distraught Strubing wanting to have sex with him. Spell consents, and the two have several sexual encounters that night, with Spell getting scratched by Strubing. But then Strubing panics about being found out and being pregnant. Spell tries to drive her to a doctor, but Strubing has to hide in the back seat when the patrolman questions him. A hysterical Strubing forces Spell to stop by a bridge where she runs out and tries to kill herself by jumping off. But she survives and flags down a motorist making up a desperate story about rape. When Willis asks why Spell didn't tell the truth to begin with, Spell talks about how black men get lynched in his native Louisiana for having sex with white women. Over Willis's objections, Judge Foster allows Spell's statement to stand.

Before the verdict, Marshall has to leave for a case in New Orleans. A desperate Willis offers Spell a much lighter plea bargain, but Spell feels emboldened enough to turn it down. The night before Marshall leaves, he and Friedman prepare the closing statement that Friedman then delivers on his own. The Southern white woman has now become the jury forewoman, and she ultimately delivers a "not guilty" verdict. Friedman happily breaks the news over the phone to Marshall, who moves on to his next case. Closing credits note that Friedman went on to work in many civil rights cases.

Cast

• Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall, the future first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
• Josh Gad as Sam Friedman, an insurance lawyer who teams with Marshall.
• Kate Hudson as Eleanor Strubing
• Dan Stevens as Lorin Willis
• James Cromwell as The Judge
• Sterling K. Brown as Joseph Spell, the man accused of rape and attempted murder that Marshall defends in court.
• Keesha Sharp as Vivien "Buster" Burey, Thurgood's wife
• Sophia Bush as Jennifer
• Jussie Smollett as Langston Hughes
• Chilli as Zora Neale Hurston

Production

Principal photography began in Los Angeles in mid-December 2015, before moving to Buffalo in early 2016, including shoots at Buffalo City Hall, the Buffalo Central Terminal, Daemen College and Niagara Falls. Reginald Hudlin directed the film from Michael Koskoff and his son Jacob Koskoff's script. Chinese company Super Hero Films financed the film, which was produced by Paula Wagner through her Chestnut Ridge Productions, along with Hudlin, Jonathan Sanger.

Release

The film had its world premiere at Howard University on September 20, 2017 and was released in the United States on October 13, 2017.

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Marshall was released alongside Happy Death Day, The Foreigner and Professor Marston and the Wonder Women, and was expected to gross $3–4 million from 821 theaters in its opening weekend. It ended up making $3 million, finishing 11th at the box office.

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 83% based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Marshall takes an illuminating, well-acted look at its real-life subject's early career that also delivers as an entertainingly old-fashioned courtroom drama." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 66 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Writing for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers praised Boseman's performance, giving the film 3 stars out of 4 and saying, "Charged by Boseman's dramatic lightning, Marshall gives us an electrifying glimpse of a great man in the making."

External links

• Official website
• Marshall at IMDb
• Sharfstein, Daniel J. (March–April 2005). "Saving the Race". Legal Affairs. Retrieved 18 October 2017. Details the real-life case portrayed in the movie.