Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a legal drama written and directed by Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler). After premiering at TIFF this year, the film was edited down to fix some of its pacing issues, trimming off 12 minutes in the process. It stars Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, and Carmen Ejogo.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended after his mentor, a civil rights icon, dies. When Roman is recruited to join a firm led by one of the legendary man’s former students – the ambitious lawyer George Pierce (Colin Farrell) – and begins a friendship with a young champion of equal rights (Carmen Ejogo), a turbulent series of events ensue that will put the activism that has defined Roman’s career to the test.
“I wrote this movie for Denzel because of his talent and because Denzel is a man who believes in human dignity and the human spirit,” says Gilroy. “Knowing who Denzel is in real life, he brings that part of himself to this character. For Roman the world is a war-zone and he’s never left the front lines. It’s a blessing and a burden.”
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is rated PG.