The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020, Aaron Sorkin) (Patreon)

49/100

Not a subject that needed Sorkin-izing, as Brett Morgen's far superior Chicago 10 demonstrated 14 years ago. We get snippets of the same (or similar) documentary footage here, interspersed with dramatic re-creation; Sorkin apparently fears that younger, historically ignorant viewers might think he's exaggerated what went down at the convention. Any such suspicion would be entirely justified, though, since he blithely, needlessly distorts so much else. Bobby Seale alone demands a lengthy fact-check: Not only does this film skate past Kunstler having briefly represented Seale in pre-trial motions (which was Judge Hoffman's stated justification for insisting that Kunstler was still Seale's attorney), it also pretends that Fred Hampton's murder (on 4 December 1969) inspired the outburst that got Seale bound and gagged (on 29 October 1969). And then, incredibly, Sorkin downplays that horror, having the judge instantly declare a mistrial rather than conducting three full trial days with Seale shouting muffled objections through the cloth in his mouth. I'm by no means categorically opposed to tweaking history for dramaturgy's sake, but each of these decisions weakens rather than strengthens an inherently compelling story. So does shameless claptrap like Rubin whining about having fallen for an undercover FBI agent (Sorkin made that up), and ultra-pacifist Dellinger striking someone in anger (Sorkin made that up), and Ramsey Clark executing an elaborate fake-out when asked to testify (Sorkin made that up), and jesus the cornball ending with Hayden (it was actually Dellinger, but let that one slide) reading the names of soldiers killed in Vietnam as everyone including the sympathetic prosecutor (Sorkin made that up) rises to their feet while Judge Hoffman keeps futilely banging his gavel and shouting for order. Performances are fine, apart from Baron Cohen obviously being way too old, and there's plenty of the man's zippy badinage, which I generally enjoy in wholly or at least primarily fictional contexts. Here, he chose a context I already know well, and added little of value.