Filthy Hippies

 

If my grandmother was still around today and reviewing movies, today's blog title might sum up her entire review of "The Trial of the Chicago 7."   

Yep.  Filthy hippies.

I finally caught up to this on Netflix where it has lingered for several months.   It opened October 16?  Oh, well, I took my sweet time getting around to it.   The Oscar nominations is what ultimately got me here.   I pretty much got what I expected to see when it first opened.

The expectation was predicated by who the writer and director was.  Aaron Sorkin.   I am not a fan.  Never have been.   Never will be.  And I am likely to despise his work even more when he finishes that biopic of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.   

Sorkin is a left leaner and it is readily apparent in every single word he puts on his computer screen.  Indeed, I'd always like to embrace balance and see both sides of every argument.   That is becoming more and more difficult in what comes out of Hollywood these days.  "The Trial of the Chicago 7" is a perfect example.

This film is all about the riots surrounding the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.  You might remember.   Cops vs. Vietnam protesters who were egged by the likes of such domestic terrorists as Tom Hayden, Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman and Bobby Seale as represented by sleazeball lawyer William Kunstler.  An ugly day in American history.   But, by the time the movie has meandered through all the court proceedings, Rubin and the like are depicted as heroes.   No surprise.  If Aaron Sorkin was a little younger, he would have been right there throwing a brick or two.

Since the court proceedings are pretty much documented, I wonder how much attention to detail was paid by Sorkin.   I sense not a lot, because, ultimately, the rioters come off as American patriots.   The literary license was likely stretched like a piece of Turkish taffy.  The presiding judge, expertly played by a no-nonsense Frank Langella, doesn't tolerate the in-court histrionics from the folks on trial.   He himself winds up being depicted as a villain.  And, in my humble opinion, the best thing in the whole picture.

Somewhere in the middle of all this one-sided nonsense is likely the real truth.  But, as interested as this movie can be from time to time, you know fully well that you're not getting the whole motion picture.  

My review is not as harsh as what my grandmother might have said.   But, indeed, she might be closer to the real story than Aaron Sorkin could ever be.

LEN'S RATING:  Two-and-a-half stars.

Dinner last night:  Leftover Chinese food.