Marshall (dir. Reginald Hudlin)

It was around half way through Reginald Hudson’s fairly mediocre legal court drama Marshall that I asked myself; Would this be anywhere near as interesting if it weren’t based on a real person?”. As is the problem with most biographical accounts, in this case the fourth for leading man Chadwick Boseman, who plays here, with his usual amount of charm and charisma, NCAAP lawyer Thurgood Marshall, if the drama on screen is only keeping you interested because of it's historical relevance, then you have to ask yourself if a fictional account would have been more poignant.

Set in 1940, we meet Marshall as a criminal defense attorney for the NCAAP, and a successful one, representing black men accused of atrocious crimes based solely on their race. He travels the country and he’s well known in the community, and respected accordingly. When the leader of the NCAAP informs him upon his return to the New York office of a case of black chauffeur Joseph Spell (Sterling K.Brown) who has been accused of raping his rich white employer Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson) in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Arriving in the North, he is met with local insurance lawyer Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), who has been reluctantly tasked with ensuring that the case gets a fair trial, and because they need a local lawyer to smooth over the out-of-state bureaucracy. A daunting case to take for any counsel, the impossible case gets worse when Judge Foster (James Cromwell), who is presiding the case, decides arbitrarily that Marshall shouldn't need to speak throughout the case, and bans him from cross examining in the courtroom.

Many will know Thurgood Marshall as the first African-American supreme court justice. And at the end of the film it begins a side-reel of some of his impressive accomplishments, including fighting for racial integration in public schools during the infamous Brown vs Board of Education hearing. It was at this point i wondered why the film-makers decided to choose this particular case, albeit an important story to tell, i couldn't help but feel that interpreting one the greatest victories in the civil rights movement would have been more engaging.

Despite this, Hudlin directing is solid, and the drama plays by as equal parts legal court drama and a chalk-and-cheese buddy movie, as Josh Gad's Sam Friedman locks horns with Thurgood on several occasions - mostly due to Marshall getting to leave when the case is over, but he still has to stay there and deal with the bigotry of the towns people. After all, as a Jewish lawyer in 1940, anti-semitic sentiments were as strife as those of the African American.

The main problem with the film is the waste of talent, both on and off the camera. We know that Thurgood was a beacon for the African-American community, though only some forgettable tv productions have told his story thus far. Here though, writers Jacob & Michael Koskoff choose one of his lesser known cases, albeit important but only one that reminds us that racial injustice was not just confined to one part of the country.

That's to say it's not somewhat entertaining. Boseman is always a charismatic screen presence, indeed he will soon be ushered into the Marvel Cinematic Universe next year with the eagerly awaited "Black Panther'. Though it not exactly a bravura performance, unlike his excellent turn as James Brown in the sorely underrated Get On Up , as here the director plays the drama with such broad strokes that we don’t get much of a chance to see the actor at his most vulnerable, as it's mostly a film with more to say about Josh Gad's character Sam Friedman and how Marshall's influence over him changes the circumstances of the case. For a film, called Marshall - it's strangely irreverent to the mans real accomplishments.

Its fair also to say that it's handsomely mounted - with some nice location shooting and attention to detail. There's also some delight as the legal drama plays out - it certainly keeps you guessing - and Dan Stevens, the prickly prosecuting attorney Loren Willis, chews the scenery for all it's worth, and it's nice to see him having fun with a role. But after a while, it amounts to less than the sum of it's parts - it's clear it has the right message at it's heart- though I believe a different topic would have served the film's talented cast better.

Rating 2/5.