Aaron Sorkin puts America on trial.

It hardly needs saying, but I’ll do it anyway. Aaron Sorkin knows how to write. More specifically, Sorkin knows how to write a damn fine courtroom drama.

As a self-confessed courtroom fanatic, Sorkin’s entire career owes much to the success of his debut A Few Good Men, a film that showed just how much juice you can get from a potentially dry sub-genre, while laying out the blueprint for his now famous dialogue style. With one eye on the courtroom, Sorkin has since woven the format into much of his work, even going as far as bringing one of literature’s most revered cases, To Kill a Mockingbird, to the Broadway stage.

In short, Aaron Sorkin’s trademark rapid-fire style is tailormade for the dialogue-heavy confines of the courtroom. But as he returns to the format properly for the first time in 18 years, the jury is out as to whether he’s still up to the job.

As the Vietnam War reached its peak, a group of disparate activists converged on Chicago to demonstrate during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. With the peaceful protest soon turning violent, a group of perceived ringleaders – including Students for a Democratic Society leader Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne), Yippie founder Abbie Hoffman (Sacha Baron Cohen), and Black Panther chairman Bobby Seale (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) – are arrested and tried for conspiracy. Faced with the full power of a hostile Nixon administration, an inept and belligerent judge, and each other’s conflicting political philosophies, the ‘Chicago Seven’ must battle against the odds to clear their name.

Despite its period setting, it’s hard to avoid just how topical The Trial of the Chicago 7 is. With race, social injustice, police brutality, and the corruptions of a right wing administration brought into stark focus, the film may have its feet planted in the late 60s, yet it’s written and directed by a filmmaker with his heart firmly in today, as the echoes of an American past reverberate around the here and now.

With riots and revolution in the air, there’s no escaping the film’s haunting relevancy, as Sorkin leaves little wiggle room in his approach. Breathless, witty, and forceful, the script is, for better or worse, pure Aaron Sorkin, as his writing, while not exactly subtle, certainly gets the job done.

For a trial that lasted over six months, with over 200 witnesses heard, the ‘Chicago Seven’ case isn’t an easy one to distil into a serviceable two-hour movie, yet Sorkin weaves his screenwriting magic for what is a thoroughly solid, rousing, timely piece of political drama. With walk-and-talks, witty repartee, and tit-for-tat ideological discourse aplenty, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is peak-Sorkin, where his highly stylised dialogue shortcuts a potentially longwinded court case, turning it into a verbal blockbuster.

Aaron Sorkin’s finest moments, however, have often come with others behind the camera. His blazing script for A Few Good Men has Rob Reiner working the room, while Sorkin’s finest screenwriting work with The Social Network had the dark edge of David Fincher to guide it. And, as a film that cuts to the chase, hurriedly dumping us in the court room, it’s fair to say The Trial of the Chicago 7 could’ve benefitted from another pair of directorial eyes for Sorkin to bounce off.

As it slips between comedic farce and heavy-hitting social drama, the film’s tone often feels muddled, as Sorkin’s script and direction struggle to find a comfortable balance. In part, this is down to the conflicting personalities and ideologies of the trial’s main players, however, as this clash spills out into the rest of the film, the off-kilter tone often struggles to find a foothold.

Sorkin’s handling of the trial itself is measured and well-paced, with his expertly honed dialogue pulling things along at a rate of knots. With a palpable sense of injustice hanging in the air, and several genuinely shocking moments thrown in for good measure, the trial is an engrossing watch that plays with the conventions of the courtroom drama while punctuating it with Sorkin’s highly kinetic brand of verbal razmataz.

Cutting back and forth between the riots and the courtroom, the switching of tones doesn’t always sit well, however, the interweaving of the Chicago demonstrations (both through dramatic recreation and archive footage) with the more inert world of the trial certainly helps keep things engaging. Although clunky at times, Sorkin’s direction here does a solid job of hammering home the relevancy and urgency of the trial to a contemporary audience.

Although awkward at times, these protest scenes do a decent job of breaking up the courtroom action, which often threatens to grow tiresome, as the single location and the excessive levels of Sorkinese test the patience at times. When the dialogue clicks, however, it really clicks, with all the usual courtroom shenanigans of witness interrogations, cross examinations, and the ongoing business of Frank Langella’s infuriatingly antagonistic Judge keep things highly engaging.

Of course, it always helps when you have an ensemble this stacked to help carry the material, and any cast that can call upon Sacha Baron Cohen, Eddie Redmayne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Michael Keaton, and Mark Rylance will always have a natural advantage. It really is quite the acting showcase and often just a pleasure to witness such talent not only come together, but to settle into Aaron Sorkin’s wordy world so comfortably. 

With all the big names given their time to shine, everyone is allowed the space to flex their chops, however Sacha Baron Cohen comes out on top with by far the film’s showiest role, as he gets to indulge his usual clown shtick, while applying a pleasantly surprising layer of dramatic nuance. Alongside him, Eddie Redmayne drops all his trademark ticks for a refreshingly straight-shooting approach, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II once again shows just what a talent he is as the frequently abused Bobby Seale, and Mark Rylance is his usual quietly imperious self, as he comes damn close to stealing the show. 

To a man (quite literally, as Aaron Sorkin seems to have forgotten that women did actually exist in 1969), every cast member ups their game to meet Sorkin’s whirlwind wordplay head-on, as they take what could’ve been unwieldy material to the next level. They also appear all too aware of The Trial of the Chicago 7’s contemporary weight, as the film’s words appear as relevant and vital now as they have ever been.

Arriving on Netflix mere days away from perhaps the most contentious election in US history and amidst one of the most tumultuous years the country has ever witnessed, the weight of Chicago 7’s urgency cannot be underestimated. While it often fails to land the devastating political blows it promises, the film’s potent imagery and message, together with Aaron Sorkin’s blistering dialogue and his cast’s prevailing performances, deliver an enthralling and damning verdict of America now, from America then.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 is available to stream now on Netflix.