Marshall

Marshall is a biographical legal drama set in the early years of Thurgood Marshall’s time as Chief Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the 1940s. It follows him during one of his first cases, the State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell. The movie stars Chadwick Boseman as Thurgood Marshall, Josh Gad as Sam Friedman, an insurance lawyer, who at first, reluctantly agrees to work with Marshall and Sterling K. Brown as Joseph Spell, the man accused of rape and attempted murder of his employer. 

The story was easy to follow, a bit predictable but still very interesting. The script, costumes and sets were realistic for the time which really helped to transport you back to the Jim Crowe era.

The casting was well done with everyone portraying their respected parts believably and flawlessly. Boseman really transported into Thurgood Marshall, I didn’t even see him the actor; I only saw the character he was playing. I’ve known Josh Gad as more of a voice actor so it was great to see him in this role where I felt like he was really able to hold his own with Boseman. I especially enjoyed their connection on screen; their comedic banter and chemistry was infectious. Additionally, the character development was pretty good all around. You were able to understand and connect with each protagonists’ motives.

I knew that Thurgood was the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court but I didn’t know much about his early work, so I thought that this was able to provide some really informative historical context while also still being quite entertaining. I think this movie is great for everyone, especially those who are a fan of Chadwick Boseman’s craft and are looking for more of his diverse and compelling work.