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ACF#28 Roman J. Israel, Esq.
The Oscars are coming up and some of the movies in contention are both remarkable and obscure. My friend Carl Eric Scott and I offer you a conversation about the Dan Gilroy-Denzel Washington movie Roman J. Israel, Esq., a story about civil rights and the struggle for justice, dignity, and the human person in our times. Denzel was nominated for his remarkable role, which is itself the result of a remarkable process. Gilory, the writer-director, has said he wrote the script for Denzel and he trusted the actor to bring the character to life and fit him into the story, with great freedom to improvise and complete trust that the result would be memorable. This is the sort of movie the Oscars should reward and that audiences looking for stories made for adults should support.
Carl mentions two movies about the great Thurgood Marshall, perhaps greater 
as a lawyer than as a Justice on SCOTUS.
One is the recent film Marshall, which came out last year to thundering silence, even in an age of biopics of black political heroes.
The other one is Separate but equal, starring Sidney Poitier and Burt Lancaster, a three-hour mini-series that came out in 1991. It was written, directed, and produced by George Stevens, Jr., son of the great director.
The amazing soundtrack includes various genres I would recommend. I’ll note that the restaurant scene we discuss more or less in the middle of the podcast is played to Bill Evans Peace Piece, perhaps the most beautiful improvisation in jazz history.
Other tracks include:
Published in Podcasts
In other words, Oscar bait.
Yes, but in the best sense. It gets damned spiritual. It’s Black Lives Matter, if it was all about equality before the law & respect for hard work of mastering the law.
I loved the podcast. I’m going to give the movie a try, hoping my mind can deal with it all.
I don’t know if the movie would strike a chord with the typical SJW of today. From what I heard in the podcast, contemporary social justice activists do not come off all that well.
No, they don’t.
Roman is a strange contradiction–all revolution, but within the law. He’s for the equality of brothers & sisters, but he’s also for chivalry & he’s almost always in a suit. He yearns for dignity. He has self-respect in part because of his rare skills, which he worked so hard to acquire, to use, & to make a difference…
He’s not what any partisan would love today, but everyone could be moved by his story.
Glad you liked it!
I just started listening and paused it to say that I like the sound level. Whatever you did is better.
Over here at the ACF, we’re not as bad as the gov’t. We do improve!
Every day, in every way…
Well, maybe on a fortnightly basis. It’s pretty exhausting…
I just finished the podcast, and the only criticism I have is that I still have some laundry left to fold but the podcast is finished.
Fortunately, there are some podcasts you’ve done recently that I’ve missed, so I have options.
Thanks, that was a very enjoyable discussion.
Glad you liked it, MT! It is short by our standards, but it’s long work editing. I take pity on myself now & then.
Ha!
My oldest son walked into my room several times during my podcast/laundry session, after Roman J., while I was listening to your podcast on Ex Machina. He was working at a desk in the hall outside my room and was fascinated by your discussion and kept getting drawn in.
He’s the one you didn’t get to meet.
By the way, I am glad you comment on the soundtrack in your OP and include all the funkadelic links. And Bill Evans!
Soundtrack is the main thing my son Max is always concerned about with any movie… It’s always been important to me, but for him it is really really important. He makes me hear things differently than I did before.
If I do say so myself, it was about time he got to know me. Maybe I’ll get to know him, too!
Some of these things I catch by myself. Others come by way of Carl–like the disco/funk in Whit Stillman’s Last days of disco. My friend John Presnall, as also Carl, is both sensitive to & savvy about rock music. Maybe we’ll do some rock podcasts at some point… Eric, then, is the classic music guy. In short, it’s a blessing to have friends!
Glad to hear Max is so serious about music. Lemme know if he does more writing that’s computerized or recorded so I can listen to it, too!
He is in an audio engineering class, and the professor had them working on Pink Floyd’s Brick in the Wall song. Max was trying to arrange a polka setting… (he is so silly, that boy of mine)
I think that was too daunting. Polka is so upbeat and jolly, not really conducive to that particular Pink Floyd song (btw, I saw them in concert several times in and around NYC as a youth).
I’m not sure how he ended up arranging it, but he actually just came home last night so I will ask him today and if fortune smiles on us can share it with you later.