'Just Mercy' - Death Row By The Numbers

Much of Just Mercy is spent on the investigation of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), an African American wrongfully convicted for the murder of an 18-year old teenager by a young lawyer, Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan). In the process, it showed a lot of injustice against the poor, the condemned, and the disfavored. It’s pretty straightforward, narratively told by the numbers, but it is hair-raisingly powerful and its message about injustice is vital. It's nothing we haven't seen before but its message never gets old in a world where communities couldn't seem to defeat racism.

Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures

Emotionally, however, it didn’t quite hit the bulls eye. The film is focused too much on the lawyer's journey in finding the truth rather than focusing on the accused. Make no mistake, after all, the movie is based on the true story of Stevenson but there's a bigger emotional angle whenever Walter is on screen. It’s very much a Michael B. Jordan movie than a Jamie Foxx, who are both superb in their roles. But it would have been more effective if it's the other way around, or at least if their relationship was highlighted like Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn in Dead Man Walking. Couldn't help but relate the two films which both dealt with death row.

But they got their message across clearly so even with my minor quibbles, it’s really fine as it is. Powerful, important, beautiful even. It could have fleshed out more of the supporting characters though, like Walter's family, Brie Larson's character, Eva Ansley, an Alabama local advocate of those who are wrongly condemned, and most especially Ralph Myers, portrayed outstandingly by Tim Blake Nelson, whose pivotal testimony against Walter McMillian put the latter in jail.

In spite of the storytelling focus and approach that is considerably conventional, Just Mercy grabs its audience with an intense emotion and understanding towards those who are always the receiving end of injustice. It's unfortunately always the condemned, but thankfully, we have films like Just Mercy to reiterate what's always been forgotten.