The Trial of the Chicago 7

I have to give the filmmakers credit, with The Trial of the Chicago 7 one of the most embarrassing moments in the modern political era has been spun into the best courtroom drama since Coppola's The Rainmaker.  A review of this film exclusively regarding its technical merits would be overwhelmingly positive; the director Aaron Sorkin demonstrates a mastery of storytelling as he weaves together the trial with events leading up to the trial, all while wrangling a large cast of character.  Sorkin keeps the dialogue tight; I never felt lost, but I also never felt like I was being talked down to.  The casting is spot on, with standout performances by Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, Sasha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman, and Mark Rylance as their lawyer.  Of course it would be unfair of me to give The Trial of the Chicago 7 a pass after so recently being critical of Judas and the Black Messiah.  After all, the events of these films overlap, and two of the primary characters from Judas are prominently featured in Chicago 7.  Although there are some similarities, and while the progressive leftists are clearly meant to be sympathetic characters in Chicago 7, Sorkin didn't create a revisionist film, rather he is offering a view from the leftists' points of view.  I feel comfortable drawing this distinction in part because of some research that I have done after watching the film.  At the time of Tom Hayden's death, the New York Times printed an obituary (you can read it here) detailing Hayden's accomplishments, and the political stances that he took, to include his involvement in the events depicted in The Trial of the Chicago 7.  While it's incredibly important that we don't find ourselves among the throng of people admiring the emperor's new robes, we should be open to hearing other points of view.