Spanning from November of 1986 to March of 1993, the film follows the wrongful arrest and conviction of Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian over the murder of a young white woman in Ronda Morrison as he would be represented three years later by an idealist young attorney from Delaware in Bryan Stevenson who would do what he can to exonerate McMillian and prove his innocence. It’s a film with a simple premise yet it is more about a young man dealing with a world that he doesn’t know much of despite having to deal with the prejudices that he also faces as an African-American. The film’s screenplay by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Lanham is straightforward as it opens with McMillian’s arrest after a hard day’s work cutting trees as he’s accused of killing this young white woman as the film then pushes a couple of years later where Stevenson meets a young convict just before Stevenson is officially an attorney where it is a scene that establishes the idealism that follows him and his determination to make things right in the unforgiving environment that is the American South in Monroe County in Alabama.
The script also play into Stevenson not only focusing on McMillian and trying to gain his support as well as the support of his family but also look into the cases of others including a former war veteran in Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan) who is suffering from PTSD as Stevenson tries to save him from execution. Aiding Stevenson in these cases include a local in Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) who helps him find the Equal Justice Initiative as she is disgusted by not just the racism in her home state but also the indifference of prosecutor Tommy Chapman (Rafe Spall) who declines to help Stevenson out in favor of protecting the state. While Stevenson was able to get an alibi from a family friend of McMillian who later backs out, the script shows Stevenson’s determination where he questions another prisoner in Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson) where some major revelations occur about why McMillian was convicted as it leads to major challenges for Stevenson to free McMillian.
Cretton’s direction is largely straightforward to play into its grounded presentation about a real-life story. While the film is set in Alabama and shot partially in Montgomery, much of it is shot on location in and around parts of Atlanta to play into the look and feel of late 1980s/early 1990s Alabama. Cretton does make the locations feel like a world of its own with prison cells also being characters as it is this place of fear where Stevenson has to endure some humiliation in his first visit in Alabama by stripping down where Cretton brings that sense of claustrophobia in the medium shots and close-ups. The usage of those shots add to the prison cell where McMillian is alone with Richardson next door to him on the left and another in Anthony Ray Hinton (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) who was also wrongly convicted. Cretton does use some wide shots to showcase some of the locations including images of trees during a scene where McMillian offer words of comfort to Richardson in one of his PTSD moments.
Cretton also play into this air of racism that is prominent in Alabama where Stevenson is an outsider of sorts as he does get a closer look of what it’s like being a black man in Alabama where a lot of the cops and local authorities are white. Cretton doesn’t paint them as typical villains as a young guard in Jeremy Doss (Hayes Mercure) becomes more sympathetic towards McMillian while the revelations about Myers showcase the similarities towards those who live below the poverty line as he too is a victim. The first act is about Stevenson’s idealism and his attempts to try and get McMillian a retrial while the second act is about these revelations and this retrial for McMillian. Yet, there’s this third act where Cretton goes into deep into the many injustices towards McMillian but also for black men as well as Chapman’s role who is someone disconnected from what is really going on as he has to deal with the status quo who are resistance towards change. Overall, Cretton crafts an engaging and evocative film about a young attorney who tries to free a wrongly-convicted man of murder in Alabama.
Cinematographer Brett Pawlak does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of low-key lights for many of the interior/exterior scenes at night as well as some understated colors for some of the daytime exterior scenes. Editor Nat Sanders does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with a few jump-cuts to play into some of the film’s intensely-dramatic moments. Production designer Sharon Seymour, with set decorator Maggie Martin and art director Peter Borck, does amazing work with the look of the house that Stevenson and Ansley bought as their headquarters as well as the look of the jail cells the prisoners live in and the court rooms. Costume designer Francine Jamison-Tanchuck does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with some of the refined clothes of McMillian’s family during the trials and church scenes along with the expensive suits that Chapman wears. Makeup artist Bridgit Crider and hair stylist Crystal Woodford do terrific work with the look of McMillian early in the film as it played into the period of the times along with the look of Ansley in her ragged yet simple look.
Special effects supervisor Nicholas Coleman and visual effects supervisor Chris LeDoux do some fine work with the special effects as it is largely set-dressing for some of the film’s locations along with a few scenes in the prison. Sound editors Onnalee Blank and Katy Wood do superb work with the film’s sound as it help play into the tense atmosphere of the prisons as well as some of its sparse moments and scenes in some of the locations in the film. The film’s music by Joel P. West does wonderful work with the film’s music score as it features elements of orchestral music with some gospel to play into the world that is the American South while music supervisor Gabe Hilfer cultivate a soundtrack that largely features elements of soul, gospel, rock, and R&B as it features pieces from Martha and the Vandellas, J. Alphonse Nicholson, Alabama Shakes, Hilton Felton, Sister Emily Braum, The Mighty Indiana Travelers, Atlantic Starr, Ella Fitzgerald, and a few others.
The casting by Carmen Cuba and Tara Feldstein is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Rhoda Griffs as a judge late in the film, Norm Lewis as the voice of a newscaster, Hayes Mercure as the young prison guard Jeremy Doss who becomes sympathetic towards McMillian during the film as he realizes that McMillian is innocent, Dominic Bogart as Eva’s husband Doug, C.J. LeBlanc as McMillian’s son John, Karen Kendrick as McMillian’s wife Minnie, Darrell Britt-Gibson as a family friend in Darnell who has an alibi for McMillian only to be spooked by the authorities, and Michael Harding as the racist Sheriff Tate who doesn’t care if McMillian is innocent as he is someone trying to instill his authority. O’Shea Jackson Jr. is fantastic as Anthony Ray Hinton as a wrongfully-convicted man who is a cell-neighbor of McMillian as he believes that Stevenson is a man of hope as Stevenson also tries to help him with his own case.
Rafe Spall is superb as Tommy Chapman as a prosecutor who is unwilling to help Stevenson as he would be the opposition as a political figure who is trying to protect his own community while dealing with the fallout of his own actions. Tim Blake Nelson is excellent as the convict Ralph Myers as a white man who made the claim that he saw McMillian commit the murder as he makes some startling revelations where Nelson provides some chilling monologues and moments that showcases a man who had been used as a pawn for a cruel system. Rob Morgan is amazing as the convicted war veteran Herbert Richardson as a man who suffers from PTSD as he awaits his execution as he hopes to save as his performance is heartbreaking to watch as someone who is consumed with guilt while coping about his own fate. Brie Larson is brilliant as Eva Ansley as a local who becomes Stevenson’s right-hand woman as well as a mother who is aware that she is targeted while also doing what she can to help as well as give Stevenson an understanding of the cruelty that is Alabama and the American South.
Jamie Foxx is tremendous as Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian as a man who is wrongly accused of murder as he is skeptical of Stevenson’s intentions due to past attempts by others as he also copes with the many challenges in getting a retrial where Foxx is just understated in his performance as well as a man who clings on to hope knowing that truth can save him. Finally, there’s Michael B. Jordan in a phenomenal performance as Bryan Stevenson as a Harvard-graduate attorney from Delaware who moves to Alabama with ideas to change the world only to deal with some reality that is intense yet Jordan maintains that determination of someone who wants to do what is right as well as understand his own identity as a black man in the South who is just trying to make a small change to a cruel world as it is a career-defining performance for Jordan.
Just Mercy is a sensational film from Destin Daniel Cretton that features great performances from Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson. Along with its ensemble cast, understated presentation, an engaging music soundtrack, and its exploration of racism and injustice in the American South. It is a film that manages to explore a young man trying to save another man from injustice while also learning about what to do to combat hate in a world that is prejudice and resistant to change. In the end, Just Mercy is a phenomenal film from Destin Daniel Cretton.
Destin Daniel Cretton Films: (I Am Not a Hipster) – Short Term 12 - (The Glass Castle (2017 film)) – Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
© thevoid99 2021
The film revolves around a young man who carries a mysterious secret as he’s the son of an immortal criminal who asks for his help believing that his late mother is alive in another world. It is a film that explores a young man, who had left his father’s world years after their mother’s death, who had gone to America to live a life that normal and fun with a friend until a letter from his estranged younger sister came in as it would lead to him and his sister reuniting with their father. The film’s screenplay by Destin Daniel Cretton, Dale Callaham, and Andrew Laham does follow a simple structure yet it opens with the story of the Ten Rings that Shang-Chi’s father Wenwu had been carrying for thousands of years as it made him immortal and live for many years until his search for a mysterious land in China with great power is where he met Ying Li (Fala Chen) who was the guardian of this mysterious land as the two fall in love and raise two children until Li’s death.
The script also play into why Shang-Chi left his family to go to America where he and his friend Katy (Awkwafina) work as valets at a hotel and spend their nights doing karaoke and why his sister Xialing (Meng’er Zhang) is pissed off at him as it relates to the day he left. The first act establishes Shang-Chi’s life in San Francisco with Katy that is interrupted by assassins of the Ten Rings organization that included Razorfist (Florian Munteanu) who is trying to get a pendant that Shang-Chi had which was given to him by his mother as it is a clue to what Wenwu is looking for in this mysterious village known as Ta Lo. It’s not just the stakes that the screenplay establish as well as the worlds that Shang-Chi, Katy, and Xialing are entering into but also in the characters as Wenwu is an individual that is a man of power but his life with Li showed that he could change but his past would catch up with him that forced him to return to his dark ways. Shang-Chi isn’t sure if everything his father is saying is true as he is someone filled with conflict about his father’s teachings as well as guilt from his past as a boy. Xialing isn’t just someone who harbors resentment towards her brother for leaving her but also her father whom she felt neglected him following her mother’s death. Katy is this wisecracking outsider that is still trying to find herself as she also gets to know more about Shang-Chi and Xialing where she also learns more about herself.
Cretton’s direction is quite vast in not just the world that these characters are in but also in many of the ancient Chinese ideals and surroundings including the mysterious Ta Lo village as much of the film is shot on location in New South Wales in Australia and studios in Australia along with additional locations in San Francisco. Cretton doesn’t just play into China’s history as well as how Wenwu is involved but also in the creation of the Ten Rings organization as this force of power who controls everything. Through wide and medium shots, the presentation of the Ten Rings organization and the world it has established itself is vast including its fortress where Wenwu lives with his army. Cretton also maintains a sense of mystique and beauty into the world including the village of Ta Lo which feature these mystical creatures that are more than just animals. It is a place where Shang-Chi and Xialing meet their aunt Ying Nan (Michelle Yeoh) whom they had never met as it would add to the film’s stakes but also Shang-Chi’s own revelations about who he is and the conflict he is dealing with over his mother’s death.
Cretton also play into the style of fighting as much of the stunt work and fight choreography is assembled by Bradley James Allan (whom the film is dedicated to) as Cretton knows how to present it with close-ups and medium shots while also knowing to keep the camera going as well as get a sense of rhythm into the fights. Notably in the third act that is about this showdown between the Ten Rings and the forces of Ta Lo as there’s a lot that is happening yet is really about the acceptance of death and the need to let go. Even as both Shang-Chi and Wenwu have to deal with ancient forces that Nan is trying to keep at bay as it play into ancient ideas of life and death as well as what the former has learned from death and who he is. Overall, Cretton crafts a dazzling yet somber film about a young man coping with his identity, loss, and the shadow of his father’s troubled legacy.
Cinematographer William Pope does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with the usage of low-key lights for some of the interior/exterior scenes at night as well as the vibrant colors of the daytime exterior scenes at Ta Lo as it feels dream-like. Editors Nat Sanders, Elisabet Ronaldsdottir, and Harry Yoon do excellent work with the editing as its usage of stylish cuts add to the fight scenes where it does play into its intensity while being straightforward for the dramatic and comedic moments of the film. Production designers Sue Chan and Clint Wallace, along with supervising art director Richard Hobbs plus set decorators Rebecca Cohen, David A. Cook, and Leigh Welsh, do amazing work with the look of the Ten Rings fortress, Xialing’s own underground fighting circuit that she runs, and house and building at Ta Lo that all has its sense of beauty and wonders. Costume designer Kym Barrett does fantastic work with the costumes from the casual look of Katy and Shang-Chi as well as the uniforms that the Ten Rings wear as well as the clothes of the people at Ta Lo including what Nan wears.
Hair/makeup designer Rick Findlater do terrific work with the look of a few characters such as the hair design of Razorfist as well as the look of the people at the Ta Lo village. Special effect supervisor Dan Oliver and visual effects supervisor Christopher Townshend do incredible work with the action set pieces as well as the design of Ta Lo and some of the creatures including a creature named Morris. Sound designer Jeremy Bowker and sound editor Katy Wood do superb work with the sound in the way the sound effects are presented as well as the atmosphere of the locations as it help add to the action and suspense. The film’s music by Joel P. West is phenomenal as its mixture of orchestral bombast and traditional Chinese orchestral music as it help play into the world that Shang-Chi is in while music supervisors Dave Jordan and Nick Lok create a soundtrack that mixes elements of pop, hip-hop, and classic rock as it features music from Niki, Swae Lee, Jhene Aiko, Anderson.Paak, JJ Lin, Saweetie, Rick Ross, and many others including some karaoke songs performed by Shang-Chi and Katy including the Eagles.
The casting by Sarah Finn is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles from Jade Xu as a Black Widow fighting an Extremis warrior in one of the rooms at Xialing’s building, Zach Cherry as a bus rider who records Shang-Chi’s fight in the bus, Stephanie Hsu and Kunal Dudhekar as a couple of friends of Shang-Chi and Katy respectively in Soo and John, Tim Roth in an un-credited voice performance as the gigantic villain Abomination as a fighter in Xialing’s building, Ronny Chieng as Xialing’s right-hand man Jon Jon at her underground building, Dallas Liu as Katy’s younger brother Ruihua, Jodi Long as Katy’s mother, Tsai Chin as Katy’s grandmother, Andy Le as the mysterious assassin known as the Death Dealer who was also the young Shang-Chi’s instructor, Yuen Wah as a Ta Lo leader in Guang Bo, Elodie Fong and Harmonie He in their respective roles as the adolescent and teenage Xialing, Jayden Zhang and Arnold Sun in their respective roles as the adolescent and teenage Shang-Chi, and Ben Kingsley in a hilarious performance as the actor Trevor Slattery whom had played a version of Wenwu many years ago and is imprisoned as he helps out Shang-chi, Xialing, and Katy in finding Ta Lo.
Benedict Wong is superb in his brief appearance as Wong as a master of the mystic arts who fights Abomination and later appears to chat with Shang-Chi and Katy while Florian Munteanu is terrific as the Ten Rings assassin Razorfist as a big man with machete/sword as a right hand as he is a formidable force that is intimidating but also with some personality. Michelle Yeoh is fantastic as Ying Nan as Shang-Chi and Xialing’s aunt who leads the people at the Ta Lo village as well as be a guide to her niece and nephew as well as be aware of Wenwu’s delusions. Fala Chen is excellent in her small role as Shang-Chi and Xialing’s mother Ying Li as a woman who was Ta Lo’s guardian when she met Wenwu as she is also this graceful fighter who gives her children something much more powerful than their father’s fighting style. Meng’er Zhang is incredible as Xu Xialing as Shang-Chi’s estranged sister whom he hadn’t seen in years as she runs an underground fight club in Macau as she also copes with the loss of her mother and her own issues with her father.
Awkwafina is marvelous as Katy as Shang-Chi’s best friend who doesn’t have much ambition while also realizes she doesn’t know Shang-Chi well at all but understands why he’s so guarded as she is a comic relief with a lot of heart but also someone who starts to embrace her Asian identity. Tony Leung Chiu-wai is phenomenal as Xu Wenwu as an immortal crime figure known primarily as the Mandarin as a man that craves power yet is ravaged by grief and the delusion that his wife is alive where Leung maintains a sense of gravitas and charisma to his performance as a man that is hoping to get his family back even if it means having to do horrific things. Finally, there’s Simu Liu in a sensational breakthrough performance as the titular character as a young man who is trying to not to be who he really is while carrying a lot of guilt over his mother’s death as where Liu maintains that sense of restraint while proving to be charismatic in the fight scenes as he is a major discovery in the film.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a sensational film from Destin Daniel Cretton that features a phenomenal ensemble cast led by Simu Liu and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. Along with its supporting cast, dazzling visuals, incredible visual effects, themes of loss and family identity, and a sumptuous music score and soundtrack. The film isn’t just this exhilarating action-adventure blockbuster that introduces audiences to a new superhero let alone an Asian superhero. It is a film that is about a man having to embrace his identity but also do what he can in that identity to bring good to the world. In the end, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a spectacular film from Destin Daniel Cretton.
Destin Daniel Cretton Films: (I Am Not a Hipster) – Short Term 12 - (The Glass Castle (2017 film)) – Just Mercy
Marvel Cinematic Universe: Infinity Saga: Phase One: Iron Man - The Incredible Hulk - Iron Man 2 - Thor - Captain America: The First Avenger - The Avengers
Phase Two: Iron Man 3 - Thor: The Dark World - Captain America: The Winter Soldier - Guardians of the Galaxy - The Avengers: Age of Ultron - Ant-Man
Phase Three: Captain America: Civil War - Doctor Strange - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - Spider-Man: Homecoming - Thor: Ragnarok - Black Panther - Avengers: Infinity War - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Captain Marvel - Avengers: Endgame - Spider-Man: Far from Home
Multiverse Saga: Phase Four: Black Widow - Eternals – Spider-Man: No Way Home – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Thor: Love and Thunder – Werewolf by Night - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special
Phase Five: Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – The Marvels – (Deadpool & Wolverine) - (Captain America: Brave New World) - (Thunderbolts*)
Phase 6: The Fantastic Four: First Steps - (Avengers: Doomsday) - (Avengers: Secret Wars)
© thevoid99 2021
Written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, Short Term 12 is the story about a young foster-care facility supervisor for young teens as she deals with her own issues in her life while becoming attached to a troubled young girl. The film explores the world of parentless children who are trying to find a family as it’s told from the perspective of a young woman who was also a foster child as she deals with the world that these young kids are going into. Starring Brie Larson, John Gallagher Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Rami Malek, Stephanie Beatriz, and Melora Walters. Short Term 12 is a touching yet powerful film from Destin Daniel Cretton.
The film is a simple story about a young woman who supervises a foster-care center for young kids as she deals with her own issues as well as a new arrival in a young girl whom she connects with. While she has a boyfriend who also works at the place as he does the same thing she does while showing a new employee how to do things. The two also deal with a kid who is about to turn 18 as he is reluctant to leave the facility as he becomes angrier. All of which plays into a woman trying to be there for these kids as they’ve been abused, abandoned, or somewhere where they don’t have a home to go to. All of which is largely told from the perspective of its protagonist Grace (Brie Larson) who knows what these kids go through as she and her boyfriend Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) both were raised in foster care.
Destin Daniel Cretton’s screenplay does contain a lot of dialogue including a few funny monologues that Mason has whenever he’s trying to prepare his new co-worker Nate (Rami Malek) about what to expect and how to connect with these kids. Especially as Nate has to be careful about what he says which would relate to the very moody Marcus (Keith Stanfield) who is set to leave but doesn’t want to. When Jayden (Kaitlyn Dever) arrives as she is only supposed to stay briefly until her father can return from a business trip. Grace is connected to her as she learns about Jayden and her moodiness as Grace seems to know what Jayden is going through which relates to Grace’s own past which she is trying to not to reveal to anyone including Mason. It all plays to the drama as it starts off as something light-hearted with some heavy drama while the third act becomes more intense as it relates to Grace’s past as well as how much she cares for the kids.
Cretton’s direction is very simple in the way he presents the film as it’s mostly shot on location with a few sets in California. Much of it has Cretton going for a hand-held style which is very engaging as the film opens with Grace and Marcus running after a boy who constantly runs away only to get captured. Cretton does go for some unique framing devices in the way he maintains an intimacy between characters that includes some striking medium and wide shots. Even the use of close-ups are intriguing in the way Cretton tells the story as it all plays to the drama as well as the sense of restraint that Grace is holding on to as she eventually becomes ravaged by her past and her attempts to repress it. All of which play into the film’s third as the direction becomes more intense in the drama while not going overly sentimental or into very heavy melodrama. Overall, Cretton creates a very captivating and mesmerizing film about a young woman trying to help young foster-care kids deal with the world.
Cinematographer Brett Pawlak does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography in maintaining a very naturalistic look for many of the film‘s day interior and exterior scenes while using some lights for the film‘s nighttime interior and exterior scenes. Editor Nat Sanders does fantastic work with the editing where it is straightforward in some cases while has a flair of style in its use of jump-cuts, montages, and some slow-motion shots to play into some of the drama. Production designer Rachel Meyers and art director Grace Alie do amazing work with the look of the facility Grace and Mason work at with different decorations for the look of some of the kids who live at the place.
Costume designers Joy Cretton and Mirren Gordon-Crozier do wonderful work with the film‘s clothes where it‘s mostly casual to play into the world the characters live in. Sound designer Onalee Blank and co-sound editor Braden Spencer do superb work with the film‘s sound from the way things sound at the facility as well as some of the places outside of the facility. The film’s music by Joel P West is terrific as it’s mostly a mixture of indie-folk and ambient music to play into some of the drama that occurs in the film.
The casting by Kerry Barden, Rich Delia, and Paul Schnee is brilliant as it features some notable small roles from Diana-Maria Riva as a nurse Grace meets early in the film, Frantz Turner as Grace and Mason’s boss, Lydia Du Veaux as a young orphaned girl named Kendra, Alex Calloway as the boy Sammy who constantly runs away and likes to play with small dolls, Kevin Hernandez as the teenager Luis, Stephanie Beatriz as the supervisor Jessica, and Melora Walters as Grace’s therapist Dr. Hendler. Keith Stanfield is excellent as the 17-year old Marcus who is reluctantly to leave the facility as he starts to lash out. Rami Malek is terrific as the new facility worker Nate who is trying to learn how things work where he eventually connects with the kids through a very simple act.
Kaitlyn Dever is fantastic as the troubled teenage girl Jayden who didn’t want to go to the facility as she would act out and only express herself through her drawings where she would find someone to talk to in Grace. John Gallagher Jr. is superb as Mason as a fellow supervisor who always talk to the kids as he’s always got something funny to say as he is very close to Marcus whom he can be very trusting to. Finally, there’s Brie Larson in an absolutely phenomenal performance as Grace where Larson puts in a lot of energy as well as emotional weight to a young woman who understands these young kids as she can talk to them while dealing with her own issues as it’s really a total break-out performance for Larson.
Short Term 12 is a remarkable film from Destin Daniel Cretton that features a tremendous break-out performance from Brie Larson. Along with an excellent supporting cast and strong stories about taking of care of orphaned children. It’s a film that explores a world where children can confide in people who know what they’re going through as they reveal that some adults have a hard time figuring things out as well. In the end, Short Term 12 is a sensational film from Destin Daniel Cretton.
Destin Daniel Cretton Films: (I Am Not a Hipster) - (Glass Castle) - Just Mercy - Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
© thevoid99 2014
