Image: People in orange jumpsuits in handcuffs and bags on their heads stand outside during the day. By: Taylor Brandon via Unsplash.com.

By: Tesha Nowak

An inspiring and true-story about a civil rights defense attorney, Bryan Stevenson, who fought for death row prisoners who were wrongly condemned, is told through the 2019 film Just Mercy, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton. The story follows young lawyer, Bryan who travels to Alabama to take on cases of death row inmates who were wrongfully convicted. A woman and her family, Eva Ansley, supports Bryan in his endeavors, helping him get his office up and running, creating the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI). Bryan meets the death row inmates in the facility, who are facing discrimination and false conviction, him too is harassed for the color of his skin. Bryan and most of the death row inmates, are black. Brayan meets Walter “Johnny D” McMillian, who was wrongfully convicted of the murder of an 18 year old white girl. After several tries of going to court, he gets a statement from Ralph Myers, who admits that on the first initial trial of Johnny D, he was told to lie and that he’d be rewarded. With this surprising revelation, the court drops all charges against Johnny D, and he becomes a free man again. Bryan goes on to help many more death row inmates through EJI and hard work. Themes that are portrayed in the film include empathy, resilience and justice.

A sign that is often seen in the film are the police badges, handcuffs and metal cups. The police badges symbolizes power to a specific group of people, stating that they are in charge. The handcuffs symbolizing the powerless or the confinement of the prisoners, unable to do anything about their future. Lastly, the metal cups represent resilience and the power of noise and support the inmates have, especially when Johnny D is released from prison. The film critiques the status quo throughout the film. It is shown that people with more money have more power, in this case majority white, thus pushing them to have more credibility. For Johnny B’s case, the poorer community, in this case is majority black, are never asked to weigh in on the situation or apply an alibi until later in the case. The socioeconomic structure isn’t explicitly mentioned however it is implied that there are issues. A person’s race was the bigger topic throughout Just Mercy.

The cinematographer’s choice of framing was important when establishing the character’s emotions or importance. When Johnny D and Bryan converse, they are positioned as the biggest object in frame, making them the most important things in the scene. With the shot reverse shot and the tight framing on their faces, the audience can see highlighted emotions more and the characters’ reactions. The main characters in Just Mercy are primarily men, the women in the film were supporting roles. This choice wasn’t to put women on the side lines of an important story, but due to the film being based on a real narrative, those elements were implemented. The women who were portrayed as side characters, highlighted a strong support system. This can high light the film’s debute date. If this film was made in the early 2000s, the supporting cast of women would probably be less involved in the story, and the story would highlight Bryan and Johnny D only.

Director Destin Daniel Cretton made this film to highlight the issues Americans face with the justice system and the biases that are prominent. It reflects on the lack of progression as a whole justice system from the 1980s to present day and that we need more people like Bryan to save the wrongfully incarcerated. This film can be compared to films about activism or racism like Dark Waters, The Hate U Give, and Selma.

Film reference: Just Mercy. (R). dir. Destin Daniel Cretton (2019); 136mins