‘Roman J. Israel, Esq’ Trailer: Denzel Washington Lawyers Up

Three years ago we were treated to screenwriter Dan Gilroy‘s (“Real Steel,” “The Bourne Legacy,” “Kong: Skull Island“) directorial debut in the flawed but thoroughly chilling “Nightcrawler.” That film scored a writing nomination at the Academy Awards and got Jake Gyllenhaal nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe. Gilroy returns to the director’s chair this year with “Roman J. Israel, Esq,” a legal drama set in Los Angeles.

“Roman J. Israel, Esq.” stars Denzel Washington and Colin Farrell and is expected to be an awards player this season. Here at The Playlist, we recently predicted that “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” will snag at least one Oscar nom for Denzel’s performance (he has eight nominations already under his belt, if you include the Best Picture nod for “Fences“). Here’s the official synopsis:

READ MORE: Denzel Washington Is The Best Part Of The Puzzling, Problematic ‘Roman J. Israel, Esq’ [Review]

Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as a driven, idealistic defense attorney whose life is upended when a turbulent series of events challenge the activism that has defined his career. Colin Farrell costars as the ambitious, monied lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.

“Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” which has been described as “‘Michael Clayton‘ meets ‘The Verdict,'” was added to the TIFF 2017 lineup at the last minute (which everyone involved seems to be just thrilled about), although the response was decidedly mixed.

The highly anticipated movie also stars Carmen Ejogo, Lynda Gravatt, Amanda Warren, Hugo Armstrong, Sam Gilroy, Tony Plana, DeRon Horton and Amari Cheatom. It features the return of renowned director of photography Robert Elswit, the cinematographer whose work you probably best know from Paul Thomas Anderson‘s films “There Will Be Blood,” “Boogie Nights,” and “Punch-Drunk Love.”

“Roman J. Israel, Esq.” hits theaters on November 3rd.