Roman J. Israel, Esq.

2017
PG-13
2h 2m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

44K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:42

Legal Thriller Crime Drama Thriller

Roman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action.Roman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action.Roman J. Israel, Esq., a driven, idealistic defense attorney, finds himself in a tumultuous series of events that lead to a crisis and the necessity for extreme action.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

44K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,944

1,550

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 2 wins & 11 nominations total

Videos34

Trailer 2:42

Trailer #2

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B A C K T O M Y R O O T S

Clip 1:00

B A C K T O M Y R O O T S

B A C K T O M Y R O O T S

Photos142

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
In the film there's a visible gap between Denzel Washington's two front teeth. He had the gap fixed with dental caps sometime after high school, but decided to remove them for this role.

Goofs
The entire film happens over three weeks' time, but when it's mentioned that William is in a coma, which occurs at the beginning of the movie, Roman states that he has been in a coma for several weeks already.

Quotes
Roman J. Israel, Esq.: Each of us is better than the worst thing we ever did.

Alternate versions
After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film was re-cut by director Dan Gilroy and star Denzel Washington. The new version is 12 minutes shorter than the festival premiere. In addition to dropping some scenes, the film now features different music on the soundtrack (replacing a number of songs) and moves a scene depicting Roman and Israel going to a Lakers game at the Staples Center to an earlier point in the story.

Connections
Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Denzel Washington/Allison Williams/Talib Kweli ft. Rick Ross & Yummy Bingham (2017)

Soundtracks
Keep On Truckin'
Written by Leonard Caston, Anita Poree and Frank E. Wilson
Performed by Eddie Kendricks
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User reviews255

Review

Featured review

10/10

Be true to thine Self

I found this to be some of the best work Denzel has done. I thought he hit the nail on the head in terms of helping his viewers feel empathy for the character. I have to be honest here. I strongly believe that if you are in your sixties and of African-American heritage this may really hit home on many levels. In general it is a film about holding on to our core values, then forgetting them to join the rest of societal madness only to realize that you were not alone in your view of the world. Restoring your original core only to pay the price of deserting it in the first place. Everyday we see people forfeit family,love and life for materialistic gains and other power trips. This is also about the change of values from one generation to another in today's world. This is a film with a message that has and will go over a lot of heads judging by some of the bad reviews I've read. Awesome sound track consisting of 60's and 70's soul and rock. Excellent character portrayals by all bar none.