Chet Kamin

This is a character study of an intellectually brilliant criminal lawyer on the autism spectrum, who is able able to function under the protection of his street smart senior partner but unequipped to face the world when his partner suddenly dies. The movie has a powerful social theme, which is the gross injustice of our unique plea bargaining system, where defendants are penalized with harsh sentences for invoking their constitutional right to a trial. It also has it also has a powerful personal story centered on the protagonist’s succumbing to temptation to profit from confidential information given by a client. Even if these themes don’t grab you, watch this for a tour de force performance by Denzel Washington.