Just Mercy

Michael B. Jordan Director: Destin Daniel Cretton Destin Daniel Cretton

Overview

With numerous opportunities laid down before him right after he graduated from Harvard Law School, Bryan Stevenson's (Michael B. Jordan) career is shaping up to be an impressive one. He, however, decides to forgo all of those offers in order to go to Alabama and represent those who cannot afford a lawyer and those who are wrongly accused. There, he meets Walter McMillian (Jaime Foxx), a man who has been convicted of murder despite the lack of evidence. To obtain justice, he must now navigate a world that is inherently against people like them. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/14/2020
UPC:	0883929701421
Original Release:	2019
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Warner Home Video
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound]
Time:	2:17:00
Sales rank:	43,044

Special Features

Making Mercy; The Equal Justice Initiative; This Moment Deserves; Deleted Scenes

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Michael B. Jordan	Bryan Stevenson
Jamie Foxx	Walter McMillian
Brie Larson	Eva Ansley
O'Shea Jackson	Anthony Ray Hinton
Rafe Spall	Tommy Champan
Rob Morgan	Herbert Richardson
Tim Blake Nelson	Ralph Myers
Karan Kendrick	Minnie McMillian
Rhoda Griffis	Judge Pamela Bachab
Darrell Britt-Gibson	Darnell Houston
Claire Bronson	Mrs, Chapman
Tonea Stewart	Mrs. Coleman
Drew Scheid	Linus
Lindsay Ayliffe	Judge Foster
John Lacy	Bill
Steve Coulter	Judge Buren
Denitra Isler	Evelyn
Ron Clinton Smith	Woodrow Ikner
Dominic Bogart	Doug Ansley
Jay DeVon Johnson	Black Guard
Tim Hooper	Charles Cooper, Office Manager
J. Alphonse Nicholson	Henry Davis
Patti Schellhaas	Courtroom Spectator
Mallory Hoff	Alice Brooks
Kelly Mumme	Stella Taylor
Hayes Mercure	Jeremy
Mary Kraft	Professor Bartholet
Desmond Phillips	State Officer
Elizabeth Becka	Mrs. Franklin
Andrene Ward-Hammond	Brenda
Matthew Byrge	Officer Williams
Al Mitchell	Uncle Leo
C.J. LeBlanc	John McMillian
Michael Harding	Sheriff Tate
Terrence Rosemore	Jimmy
Alex Van	Chamber Guard
Kirk Bovill	David Walker
Pete Burris	Older Man
Jacinte Blankenship	Christy
Ted Huckabee	Bailiff Barnes
Olivia DePaux	Court Reporter
Jay D. Kacho	Prominent Monroeville Citizen
Darryl Handy	Bernard
Kuntrell Jackson	Interviewee #4
Ryan Dinning	Young Officer
Marcus A. Griffin	Charlie
Benjamin Weaver	Courtroom Spectator
Amahl Lipkins	Inmate
Harvey B. Jackson	Mason Sheriff Deputy
Jeff Coopwood	Prison Singer
Tatom Pender	Tracy
Martell Slater	Prisoner
Sandy Givelber	Court Reporter
Carl Palmer	Older Officer
Mark Dippolito	Voice Only
Deadra Moore	Deb
Kevin Kedgley	Prison Guard Kay
McDaniel Austin	Inmate
Stephen Wyatt Nelson	Judge Robert E. Lee Key
Albert L. Taylor	Death Row Inmate
Damon Vance	Prison Guard
Sebastian Eugene Hansen	Chris
Josh Royston	Police Officer
Champ Hollins	Kickball Player
Tony Bradley	Prisoner
Brandon Armstrong	Neighbor
Sean K. Jones	Actor
Todd Layne Thompson	Police Officer
David Michael-Smith	Deputy Sheriff Barnes
Bill Southworth	Mr. Franklin
Andy Morales	Mysterious Man
Matt Markopoulos	Mechanic
Kate Ash	Townsperson
Matthew DelBene	Male Lawyer #2
Cynthia Q. Minor	Family Member
Kylan Robinson	Young Boy
Leonard Roll	Townsperson
Whitney Howard	Female Lawyer
Noah Hudson Killingbeck	Prison Visitor
Emma Crockett	Townsperson
Jerome Godwin	Kickball Player
Gregg Bernhard	Montgomery County Sheriff

Technical Credits

Destin Daniel Cretton

Andrew Lanham

Destin Daniel Cretton	Director,Screenwriter
David Atherton	Makeup Special Effects
Peter Borck	Art Director
Scott Budnick	Executive Producer
Carmen Cuba	Casting
Mike Drake	Executive Producer
Asher Goldstein	Producer
Daniel Hammond	Executive Producer
Gabriel Hammond	Executive Producer
Francine Jamison-Tanchuck	Costumes/Costume Designer
Natalie Christine Johnson	Makeup
Michael B. Jordan	Producer
Charles D. King	Executive Producer
Niija Kuykendall	Executive Producer
Andrew Lanham	Screenwriter
Cierra Madison	Set Decoration/Design
Michael J. Moore	Asst. Director
John Moredock	Set Decoration/Design
Gil Netter	Producer
Brett Pawlak	Cinematographer
Nat Sanders	Editor
Sharon Seymour	Production Designer
Jeff Skoll	Executive Producer
Bryan Stevenson	Executive Producer
Joel P. West	Score Composer

Editorial Reviews

In the long lineage of biopics concerning American injustice, Just Mercy is notches above 42 but leagues below Malcolm X. Still, the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed film-which is based on a true story-is relevant and worthwhile. Walter McMillian's (Jamie Foxx) experience on death row as an innocent man is a dreadful account, but one made heroic by the vigorous efforts of attorney Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), a recent Harvard Law School graduate. Stevenson's arrival in 1989 Alabama and subsequent fight for McMillan's life are met with ego and bigotry. As he tracks down witnesses and corroborates testimony, he sees that injustice still exists in the South. The persistent pace of Just Mercy makes the enormity of systemic racial injustice seem under tight rein. It's as though the filmmakers channeled the broad scope of director Ava DuVernay's 13th into an alive and personal true story. Foxx proves once again that he's an underrated dramatic actor. Even in his limited, enclosed scenes at the prison and in the courtroom, the caged insanity reverberates even in the quieter moments of suffering. Jordan as the real-life lawyer isn't very trailblazing. As the stock hero type, he jogs through his frustrations and we see the single tear drop down his cheek, but mostly he's consigned to routine speeches. Tim Blake Nelson as Ralph Myers, the prosecution's key witness against McMillian, steals a few scenes with his twitchy, anxious demeanor. The racial injustice faced by McMillian echoes throughout American history, and the film isn't afraid to emphasize it. An early scene shows Stevenson driving up to the prison as black inmates are doing manual labor while a white guard with a shotgun towers over them on a horse. Far from a Rick Grimes stand-in, the image evokes slavery-era plantation power dynamics: the field hands and the white masters. Just Mercy is scathing in its indictment that the treatment of black Americans has not changed one bit. Stevenson, safe in his knowledge of the law and his rights, is still subjected to racist indignity, such as being strip searched at the prison and facing a stop-and-search at gunpoint. The chilling relevance is undoubtable when the sheriff coolly says, "Hey brother, you better be careful with your words if you got a gun at your head." The struggle for equality is front and center. But everything hinges on several moments where white characters need to do the right thing, which indicates the story might be more about our reliance as a society on the passing goodness of white people. The film lacks clarity in this endeavor, however. The scene of the guard being portrayed as the "good guy" to McMillian-even though he's the one who subjected Stevenson to the humiliating strip search-is nauseating to watch. It demonstrates an odd persistence to make terrible white people seem as though they still have integrity. The film navigates these treacherous socio-political waters, while also attempting to engage the audience in the tortuous journey to justice. Beyond the superior acting, Just Mercy doesn't attempt to thrill the audience much with sets, lighting, or even with costuming-without Brie Larson's high-waisted pants and perm, one would hardly know it's set in the early 1990s. However, songs like "Don't Wanna Fight" by Alabama Shakes and "Trouble of the World" by the iconic Mahalia Jackson punctuate emotional scenes impeccably. The song playing over the loudspeaker during a condemned man's execution day is a specific soul punch. Just Mercy is one of those stories that needed to be told, and through a modern perspective, the gritty nuances are there. The film doesn't quite soar, but it sits on a sturdy foundation.

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