Marshall (2017)

  This is another one of those films that makes me think we should disband the Academy and just start over.  By any measure, this is a prestige drama with an up-and-coming leading man based on an American icon and it was nominated for *checks notes* Best Original Song.

Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) is very busy as the only African-American lawyer for the NAACP in 1939.  He travels across the country, fighting against a biased court system, in order to uphold the constitutional rights of unfairly arrested and prosecuted black people.  He is summoned to Bridgeport, Connecticut to look into the case of Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), a chauffeur accused of the rape and attempted murder of his employer's wife, Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson).  As he is not licensed in the state of Connecticut, Marshall reaches out to Sam Friedman (Josh Gad), a local lawyer with a background in civil court, for a recommendation to admit Marshall for the purpose of the trial.  It's only supposed to be a legal formality but Judge Foster (James Cromwell) denies Friedman's request and demands that Friedman try the case himself.  Thrown together by circumstance, Friedman and Marshall have to work together to save Spell from a death sentence.

I thought this was a very good movie and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.  (I'm still a little gun-shy about Important Dramas after Oscar season.)  The dialogue is snappy, the performances are top-notch, the costumes and production design are excellent, and it is moving without being melodramatic.  It is a travesty that it was not more recognized by the Academy.  It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime.