A Critical Approach to the Movie ‘Just Mercy (Literature & Language Essay)

Rocky Guo
Benjamin Scott Blickle
Writing as Exploration, Section 070
2020.10.22
A Critical Approach to the Movie ‘Just Mercy’
'Just Mercy' is a biographical fiction film of 2019 based on a book written by Bryan Stevenson himself. The movie features various serious topics including, class discrimination, social injustice, the corrupt court system, and careless attention to an unfair legal tradition. A lawyer, Bryan Stevenson in Alabama, devoted to saving wrongly accused persons behind bars, is determined on his mission. He found Walter McMillian, on death row with wrongful conviction. Stevenson fights for justice for McMillian unless his struggle brings fruits. The movie has various characters, interesting setting, touching plot, surprising twist, and final resolution.
All of the characters in the movie have realistic portrayals because it was a true story. They provide insight into the significant social, cultural, legal, and traditional stigmas in American society through their comprehensive dialogues and course of action (Books, 2017). However, in my perspective, the two characters, Bryan Stevenson and Walter McMillian grab more attention than any other in the movie for their leading roles.
Stevenson is the writer, storyteller, and protagonist of the film. He lives in a marginalized black community in Delaware. After graduating from Harvard, he moved to Alabama working as an activist and lawyer to on a mission to free the prisoners sentenced to death. He is a cooperative lawyer and establishes close bonds with his colleague, Eva Ensley. Characterized by performing in a story based on reality, he symbolizes African American outcry for justice by starting his fight as lawyer and getting fervent as an activist. His endless struggle to demand justice metaphorically represents the vitality of the black race standing firm in front of the broken American dream with hopelessness. As a narrator, his tone is sympathetic, patient, and sometimes frustrated over the dilemma of socially marginalized people in America who helplessly die on the electric chair for doing nothing. However, he is hopeful in his journey to justice, which poses his rhetoric stance on the cruelty of courts in America privileged by the affluent class and white Americans; he says to the judge while defending McMillian, "And I understand much time has gone by, but I believe that it is never too late for justice" (Entertainment, 2020). His facial expressions are essential in building the movie's influence; for example, the soberness of face in the courtroom deepens the matter's gravity.
All in all, he is hopeful, devoted, resilient, just, and helpful to others. Stevenson’s facial expressions are a blend of his resolution and revolt against the prevalent justice system. He frequently frowns to indicate his annoyance over racial discrimination rooted in the judicial system and norms of his society. Simultaneously, there is grimness on his face, which is also suggestive of his discontent. However, the spark in his eyes reflects the solidity of his resolution and firmness of his belief.
Walter's legal sentence is of central importance in the movie. He has come from a lower-class black ancestry in the adjoining town of Alabama. He grows as a small businessman and a family of little children with his wife. Unfortunately, he falls in love with a white woman, leading to the false accusation of murder, putting McMillian under the fear of being sent to an electric chair. Stevenson took the mission to reverse his conviction and penalty as the central storyline of the movie. However, Good humor, gentleness, patience, and innocence are his character attributes. Above all, he becomes the heart of sympathy from the audience for his misery behind bars.
The location of 'Just Mercy' is in Alabama, the death place of Ronda Morrison, whose fictional murder is the central theme of the story. The movie follows the real story of justice and redemption led by Stevenson, who saves the wrongfully accused murderer of Ronda Morrison. In his fight, he realized the degree of racism and social prejudice affecting America's legal system. Consequently, the movie suggests the level of corruption and injustice in Alabama, the heart of prejudice. The time frame in the story is 1989, when McMillian was helplessly thrown into the horror of capital punishment. The year 1989 subsequently follows the murder of Ronda Morrison in 1986 (King, 2018). Hence, the story's location and timeframe are based upon the real crime, wrong accusation, efforts for defending the innocent, and the plight of guiltless prisoners waiting for death.
The plot consists entirely of the wrong penalty of death on McMillian and the ceaseless efforts to help him in his legal trials to seek justice. The story progresses by the minor characters' dialogues and actions along with the two central characters, the lawyer and the prisoner, following the true story of the murder of Ronda Morrison, who was mercilessly killed in a dry cleaner shop in 1986. The end of the story marks Stevenson's triumph as a lawyer and the reunion of McMillian with his family (King, 2018). Although the story elevated the law for setting McMillian at large in the end, the author deliberately highlights the falsehood of the American dream, which internationally boasts social justice and anti-racism.
Although conventional legal thrillers prepare the audience for a sudden surprise and melodrama, 'Just Mercy' does not convey traditional twists. As it is based on a factual, uniform story as it has no rousing speeches and twisting progress. The final twist is the ending of Stevenson's story, and McMillian returns to his family (Books, 2017). More than psychological appeal, the movie's objective is to take the audience into the courtroom of America, which is often unjust, corrupt, and demanding unbelievable efforts to seek justice for lower class or race.
'Just Mercy' takes 2 hours and 16 minutes to watch. A murder mystery or legal thriller of this sort is generally shorter. Although it lacks the thriller melodrama and emotional speeches, the resolution part is not what everybody was expecting in the theatre. The resolution scene is unpredictable, implying to the defeat of power and hatred in the face of justice.
It is evident that the movie targets an audience susceptible to liking it, heedlessly of its weaknesses, and a stark dearth of mystery. However, the director's astonishingly stewed presentation covers a large part of the story to stimulate sympathy among the audience for the prisoner (King, 2018). While analyzing from a broader angle, the story calls on global human rights organizations and African Americans' international audience targets.
At its core, 'Just Mercy' accentuates the va...