Let’s get this out of the way first: Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 is one of my favorite films of 2020. Not only is it loaded with incredible performances, and features a brilliant script by Sorkin, the movie is perfectly timed and speaks to what is going on in America today.

As most of you know from the trailers, The Trial of the Chicago 7 dramatizes the events around the Chicago Seven, a group of activists who faced a multitude of federal charges in the wake of protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Unfortunately, the way they were treated by the Judge and prosecution while trying to defend themselves was nothing short of a mockery of the justice system. As you watch the movie it’ll be hard for you not to get angry at the way they were treated and it’s a powerful reminder why you need to have people in positions of power that are fair and just.

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Image via Netflix

The Trial of the Chicago 7 stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as prosecutor Richard Schultz; Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong as Yippie activists Abbie Hoffman and Jerry RubinEddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden, veteran of the Free Speech Movement; Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Bobby Seale, alongside defense attorney William Kunstler (Mark Rylance) and Leonard Weinglass (Ben Shenkman), Judge Julius Hoffman (Frank Langella) and outgoing Attorney General Ramsey Clark (Michael Keaton).

Shortly after seeing the film I got to speak with Eddie Redmayne. He talked about what it meant to finally work with Aaron Sorkin after being a fan and the timeliness of the movie. Check out what he had to say below.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is now streaming on Netflix.

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