Review of Roman J. Israel, Esq.

The bumbling, socially awkward and allegedly "savant" character of Roman is played very well by Denzel Washington. I understand that the movie was attempting to highlight two very important life lessons: "be true to yourself" and "don't compromise yourself and sell out." However, aside from these life lessons, the audience learns nothing profound about the world in which Roman resides, except that it's cruel and that nice guys finish last. Throughout the entire movie, Roman is constantly abused by people to the point that you're rooting for him and hoping all will end well, because he is well-intentioned. He wants to help those who can't help themselves. He wants to change the legal system for the better. He may be awkward, but he has a photographic memory that he tries to put to good use. Spoiler alert: It doesn't end well. After being abused throughout the whole movie, and after selling out for money, then realizing his mistake, Roman is killed off. I suppose you could argue that Roman passed his final life test by acknowledging his mistake and trying to make amends. However, it was an extremely sad and unnecessary ending to the movie. Roman never got a break for all of his good intentions, and often, even the people he was trying to help turned on him. I suppose the movie did have one final life lesson: No good deed goes unpunished.