From the looks of just the trailer alone, I’d say Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan are definitely contenders for Oscars next year. The two are starring in the new drama Just Mercy based on the amazing life’s work of Bryan Stevenson.
The film follows Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds—and the system—stacked against them.
Just Mercy also stars O’Shea Jackson Jr., Rafe Spall, Tim Blake Nelson, Rob Morgan and my friend Karan Kendrick.
Watch it below:
JUST MERCY arrives in theaters on January 10, 2020