Just Mercy (2020)
95%RT Audience Score: 99%
Awards & Nominations: 9 wins & 19 nominations
Just Mercy dramatizes a real-life injustice with solid performances, a steady directorial hand, and enough urgency to overcome a certain degree of earnest advocacy.
Just Mercy” is a movie that will make you feel all the emotions. From anger to awe, this film tells the story of a man fighting against a system that fails to protect the innocent. Jamie Foxx gives a stellar performance, and Michael B. Jordan’s nuanced turn sets the tone for the entire film. While the dialogue may not be top-notch, the story itself is enough to keep you engaged. It’s a great companion to the ongoing discussion regarding the death penalty, and it reminds us why some movies are more than just vehicles for financial gain. Overall, “Just Mercy” is a solid, meat-and-potatoes docudrama that’s worth watching.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros. Pictures, Endeavor Content One Community
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
East Point, Georgia, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for thematic content including some racial epithets.
Year of Release
2020
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Atmos
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 16m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 10, 2020 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 25, 2019
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Michael B Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, written by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham, drama, PG-13, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Tara Brady, Michael Phillips, Ty Burr, Kathleen Sachs, Alonso Duralde, Wenlei Ma, Dan Bayer, James Luxford, Carson Timar, Lonita Cook, Hosea Rupprecht, producer Gil Netter, Asher Goldstein, Michael B Jordan, MPAA rating, injustice, racism, legal system, Alabama, Walter McMillian, Bryan Stevenson, Herbert Richardson, Ralph Myers, Tommy Chapman, Eva Ansley, Dolby Atmos, Flat (1.85:1)
Worldwide gross: $50,401,502
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $57,516,451
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,273
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 6,272,241
US/Canada gross: $36,001,502
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $41,083,669
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,153
US/Canada opening weekend: $107,858
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $123,084
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,857
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $28,529,135
Production budget ranking: 1,178
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $15,362,939
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $13,624,376
ROI to date (est.): 31%
ROI ranking: 1,239
Jamie Foxx – Walter McMillian
Brie Larson – Eva Ansley
Rob Morgan – Herbert Richardson
Tim Blake Nelson – Ralph Myers
Rafe Spall – Tommy Chapman
Director(s)
Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer(s)
Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham
Producer(s)
Gil Netter, Asher Goldstein, Michael B. Jordan
Film Festivals
Toronto
Awards & Nominations
9 wins & 19 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (309) | Top Critics (79) | Fresh (262) | Rotten (47)
Foxx does his best work in a decade. For the charismatic Jordan, who puts in a tone-setting nuanced turn here, Just Mercy arrives between Creed II and Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse. Let’s hope he sticks with the “one for them, one for me” formula.
February 11, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
“Just Mercy” is solid, meat-and-potatoes docudrama filmmaking, if you don’t mind a first-rate story of systemic injustice undercut by second-rate dialogue.
February 11, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Michael Phillips
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Unlike many movies “based on a true story,” “Just Mercy” sticks close to the facts of the case – for the simple reason that the facts are drama enough.
February 11, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Ty Burr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
It’s both rage-inducing and awe-inspiring; the courage conveyed by the protagonists is a balm on the sting of injustice.
February 11, 2021
Kathleen Sachs
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
It’s competently made… Thought has been put into this production, and again, I’m completely a hundred percent on the side of everything it has to say. I just don’t think it’s a very good movie.
March 19, 2020 | Rating: 6.5/10
Alonso Duralde
Breakfast All Day
TOP CRITIC
Just Mercy is a deeply moving film, a human story about injustice and justice and how intangible and ephemeral they both really are.
February 28, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Wenlei Ma
News.com.au
TOP CRITIC
This is still an important story to tell, and if the film doesn’t do anything interesting or exciting with the material, it is still solid and ends on a high note. It works, and there’s nothing more it needs to do than that.
May 13, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Dan Bayer
Next Best Picture
Although Just Mercy is a little long at more than two hours it may have been better told as a miniseries and takes a while to get going, its worth persevering with for the heartfelt portrayal of this remarkable man.
February 21, 2022 | Rating: 3/5
James Luxford
City AM
Just Mercy is a great companion to the ongoing discussion regarding the death penalty, bringing a relevant and integral view to the topic.
February 12, 2022
Carson Timar
Filmotomy
Jamie Foxx – stellar turn in his performance.
September 15, 2021
Lonita Cook
KCTV5 News at 9
Just Mercy is one of those films that reminds us why some movies are more than just vehicles for financial gain.
August 12, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
Just Mercy easily solidifies its main point about a system that fails to protect the innocent.
July 23, 2021
Robin Holabird
KUNR (Reno, NV)…
Plot
A powerful and thought-provoking true-story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan might have had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (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.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Jamie Foxx delivers a “stellar turn” in his performance according to one critic review on Fresh Kernels.
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