Aaron Sorkin has become one of the masters of dialogue in television and film, with his previous works like The Social Network, The West Wing, and A Few Good Men being some of the most critically acclaimed written works of our time. He carries this exceptional work into his new film The Trial of the Chicago 7, which is nominated for five Golden Globes, making it the second most nominated film this year.
The Trial of the Chicago 7 follows a group of Vietnam War protesters that were put on trial for conspiracy and intending to cause riots in 1968 during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The film takes a story that is not commonplace teaching in history classes and masterfully takes the viewer through the journey of this story mainly in the style of a courtroom drama. The storytelling method of taking you through the events of what is happening at the trial of these individuals, while using flashbacks to show you the events that led to their arrest, is what sets the film apart. It doesn’t simply tell you a chronological story like most biopics often do, instead it tries to switch up the way events are presented to the viewer, and it pays off.
The first, and most obvious, thing that stands out when watching the movie is the dialogue. Aaron Sorkin once again absolutely crushes the screenplay, with the majority of the film’s best moments being generated by the words on the page. The tension, drama, humor, and all the emotions portrayed by the actors are propped up by one of the best written works of the year. This is a screenplay that needs to be shown to upcoming filmmakers as the blueprint for what you want to achieve, words that seem so real and human that it doesn’t feel like some Hollywood production, but instead actual conversations and events being watched.
While the screenplay could be dissected and discussed for hours, that is not the only element in this film that makes it so successful. The ensemble of actors put together is truly something to marvel at, as it seemed that every big name, award winning actor in the industry appeared in the film. Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jeremy Strong, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Mark Rylance, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and even a surprise appearance from Michael Keaton. All of these actors have won big awards for previous roles and they all come together in a seamless way, where all of them have a time to shine at some point. While all the actors are certainly standouts, there is one performance that truly captivates you, and that is the work of Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman. Baron Cohen is nominated for Best Supporting Actor-Motion Picture for his performance and it is no surprise that he is. He delivers such a nuanced performance, with him showing off his dramatic and comedic acting chops, oftentimes simultaneously in a scene. The character of Abbie is brought to life in a way that I don’t think any other actor could have done, making Baron Cohen one of the frontrunners for this category. Truth be told, there could have been a multitude of acting nominations, with the work of Eddie Redmayne and Mark Rylance really standing out to me, but the The Trial of the Chicago 7 fell victim to the nominating rules of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. With most of the actors all having to be submitted for the supporting actor category it led to only one of them being recognized, which is a shame.
The next layer to this film is the directing of Aaron Sorkin, with this being only the second feature film directed by him. While all the other elements of the film are absolutely standout and are so recognizable, the directing of Sorkin is more subtle. The shots are well executed, but there is not some remarkable feat that so often is needed to win the Best Director Motion Picture award that Sorkin is nominated for. He offers a steady hand on the directing front but does not innovate in any way, it is a pretty standard fare job. His nomination is indicative of the love that the HFPA has shown the film, that even the elements of the film that do not blow you away are still recognized.
All of the individual components build into the most important nomination for the film this Golden Globes cycle, which is for Best Picture Drama. It is absolutely clear that this is one of the most complete movies of the year, with it having so many great components that blend together into a cinematic classic. The film has all the things necessary to be considered one of the best this year, and I would be shocked if this was not one of the top choices for every voter.
So, What Are the Chances of Winning?
Best Picture Drama:
A clearly deserved nomination and a win are two different stories, but in the case of The Trial of the Chicago 7 I truly believe it will come home with a win. The HFPA is known for handing out the award to biopics or movies based on historical events, with 1917 and Bohemian Rhapsody winning in the last two years, and I expect this trend to continue. Now while I believe the film will win I would not put all my money on it either, there is still a chance the HFPA shocks, but at the moment it is the odds favorite and my favorite.
Best Supporting Actor-Motion Picture:
Sacha Baron Cohen undoubtedly has one of the best performances of the year in this film and unfortunately will most likely not win, due to being in one of the toughest categories this year. Going up against the likes of Daniel Kaluuya, Jared Leto, Bill Murray, and Leslie Odom Jr. puts him in a tough position. While I would definitely say that he is in the top three here with Leslie Odom Jr. for One Night in Miami and Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah, I’d say that those two have a better shot at winning than him. In most years past I would have said without a shadow of a doubt that this would take home the Golden Globe, but this year is just filled with talent.
Best Director:
Aaron Sorkin’s work as a director is simply put, not going to be enough to win this award. The director category is one that requires such groundbreaking innovation most years, with the use of one-shots or the creation of new visual technologies, often being essential to winning. Sorkin goes up against a field that includes David Fincher and for the first time three female directors in Regina King, Emerald Fennell, and Chloe Zhao. While Fincher has previously won for The Social Network, that Sorkin wrote the screenplay for, the rest of the directors in the category are first time nominees. This puts the majority of the category on the same level and I’d be shocked if one of the three very accomplished women nominated do not take home the prize.
Best Screenplay:
While Aaron Sorkin probably will go home empty handed for directing, his screenplay has a very good chance of being recognized. With it being one of the best and most complete written works of the year and coming from Sorkin who has a history of winning for his writing, this seems like an award that seems to be headed his way. The master of dialogue winning yet again for dialogue in a category with many first time nominees seems like what will happen. However, I’m still not comfortable throwing my whole confidence behind a win for Sorkin, just because of the unpredictability of the Globes. Ultimately, I’d say he has about a 70 percent chance of winning, which are very good odds all things considered.
Best Song:
Now when it comes to judging the original song made for this movie, I would say “Hear My Voice” by Celeste is a beautifully written and performed song. It no doubt deserves to be considered but when it comes to songs that win in this category it changes so much on a year to year basis. So I would leave the judgement of this one to oddsmakers and not myself.
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