'Just Mercy' Trailer: Michael B. Jordan Headlines Legal Drama From 'Short Term 12' Director

Few directors have had the abounding promise in an early feature as Destin Daniel Cretton, and fewer directors have inspired such anticipation for their career trajectory. Cretton’s 2013 masterpiece “Short Term 12” is still one of the defining humane dramas of the decade and was a launching pad for major talents like Brie Larson and Lakeith Stanfield. That film felt like a minor miracle, though Cretton’s not quite found his footing since that debut. His 2017 adaptation “The Glass House” was a noble failure, a well-acted but stodgy and awkward family drama that didn’t allow him to live up to the glaring potential he showed with “Short Term 12.” Perhaps December’s “Just Mercy” will change that.

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The legal drama reunites Cretton with Larson for the third time and pairs him with new folks like Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Tim Blake Nelson, Rob Morgan, and Rafe Spall.

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It’s a tale of real-life legal injustice Cretton is chasing next, with Jordan’s portrayal of lawyer Bryan Stevenson, director of the Equal Justice Initiative, and his taking on the case of the wrongfully-imprisoned Walter McMillian and the treacherous waters of the Alabama court system.

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Cretton could be the perfect conduit for such a tale, and he’s got a heck of an ensemble in tow with him this time around. Warner Bros. seems to be showing a strong level of confidence in this one, debuting it at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival this week and giving it a limited release late in 2019 to qualify it for this year’s Oscars. Here’s the official synopsis:

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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 had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, 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.

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It could be a big story for Jordan, one of the best actors working right now and still without much awards love to show for it, and Foxx, a past Oscar winner who could be a prime candidate for a Supporting Actor nod. We don’t quite know the extent of Larson’s role in this, but of course, she’s a recent winner for “Room” and should never be counted out.

It would be very appropriate for Cretton to finally get his chance to field an awards contender, and an exciting fulfillment of potential for this to be another great movie on his filmography. He’s got Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” coming in 2021 as his first commercial venture, so his profile is undoubtedly on the rise. We’re just happy for his return with what looks to be a promising film and an awards contender, and we’ll have more on how this one with a review when it debuts at TIFF on Sept. 6.

For those not at the festival, “Just Mercy” opens limited on Christmas Day before expanding wide on Jan. 17, 2020.