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Predictable 'Roman J. Israel, Esq.' wastes Denzel Washington

“Roman J. Israel, Esq” - ★ ★ ½

It's getting close to Oscar season and that means it's time for an early prediction. Ready? Here goes: The Academy Award for Worst Title of a Motion Picture will surely go to “Roman J. Israel, Esq.”

This complex, untidy but ambitious film starring a brilliant Denzel Washington deserves better.

Directed and written by Dan Gilroy, “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” traces the fall from grace of a man not in the predictable way when he hits rock bottom but how a broken person actually rises in wealth and esteem. But Gilroy seems to struggle. “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” often feels like a small, intellectual film is rattling around inside the bones of a more predictable Hollywood legal thriller.

Washington plays Israel, an attorney in modern-day Los Angeles who for decades has been the quiet, backroom brains of a two-person criminal defense firm until he's called upon to step forward. He's somewhat ill-equipped to do so - his ratty suits are ill-fitting, his glasses are unfashionable and he listens to an iPod with old orange-foam headphones.

Yet Israel is an old-school civil rights warrior who is a lonely genius - someone calls him a “savant” and another says he's a “freak.” He prefers to pore over legal briefs in his humble apartment while eating peanut butter sandwiches than drive around in a flashy car.

When his cocoon is finally broken, Israel must fend for himself and try to keep his principles, which becomes harder when he falls into the orbit of a slick defense attorney (Colin Farrell, wonderfully understated), who offers a new, snazzy lifestyle. Carmen Ejogo plays a community organizer - the angel to Farrell's devil. Which will Israel choose?

A lawyer (Denzel Washington), right, meets with a community organizer (Carmen Ejogo) in Roman J. Israel, Esq." Courtesy of Sony Pictures

Washington has done everything he can to inhabit this odd man. He shambles along with a heavy gait, lugging a heavy case and constantly pushes his glasses up with a finger. As he changes, Washington does, too - flashing a forced smile, losing his tics. Set against a Los Angeles that seems in constant flux thanks to never-ending construction, the film mirrors the remaking of its lead character.

Gilroy has peppered the script with some great lines, but there are frustrations. Israel is stubbornly lost in the '70s, but has an iPod and a flip phone, a transparent attempt by the filmmakers to have their cake and eat it, too. And if he's such a savant, why can't he figure out better choices? (You'll be able to see how this film ends 10 minutes before it happens.)

Washington gives us another astounding performance of a deeply idiosyncratic man, but the film around him often isn't as skillful.

<b>Starring:</b> Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo

<b>Directed by:</b> Dan Gilroy

<b>Other:</b> A Sony Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for language and violence. 122 minutes

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