Movie trailer breakdown: ‘Marshall’

Photo Credit: Marshall/Open Road Films

This October, we’ll watch Thurgood Marshall as he takes on a rape case of innocent Joseph Spell with friend Joseph Friedman in the highly anticipated film ‘Marshall’ starring Chadwick Boseman.

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You may have heard of Thurgood Marshall, and in many ways, I hope you have. He is known as a black man in a time where black people were not considered men. He went from being under the wing of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to become the first black judge on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Marshall was born in Baltimore Maryland (1908). He graduated from Lincoln University where he would receive his law degree from Howard. As an attorney for the NAACP, he traveled to represent clients throughout the United States. Earning him the name “Mr. Civil Rights,” Marshall argued 32 cases at the Supreme Court level which is the most in US history.

These cases that Mr. Marshall presided over established him as a history-making judge. Murray v. Pearson (1935), Smith v. Allwright (1944), Shelley v. Kraemer (1948) and most famously Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954) all involved furthering the human rights movement for black people. The movie Marshall will focus on The State of Connecticut v Joseph Spell (1941).

The trailer, shows right away that Thurgood Marshall (played by Chadwick Boseman) is not the type of guy who shies away from any battle.  A bar fight erupts after Marshall becomes a racial target, we then see Marshall entering the NAACP building. He will find that his assignment is in Connecticut, a town that does not see black men of power.

The case begins

The NAACP wants Marshall to represent Joseph Spell (played by Sterling K. Brown) a black chauffeur on trial for raping a socialite, Eleanor Strubing (played by Kate Hudson). Strubing is his employer in Greenwich, Connecticut. According to testimony, Strubing states Spell raped her four times.  Throughout history, this charge led to a death sentence, but Greenwich wants America to know that they are going to give Spell a fair and honest trial.

Marshall also feels the pressure and what this means for not only Spell but the black race as a whole. One person tells him “there’s only 13 million negros depending on you.” Even though there is an extreme burden on Marshall, he is also very confident in himself to get the job done. His friend tells him in one scene, “I think you have enough confidence for us all.”

In another scene, Marshall would meet his co-counsel Sam Friedman (played by Josh Gad) at Grand Central Station. Sam is a top-notch lawyer who has a flair for the dramatic. He is also white and has a difficult time understanding what is actually happening in the world. His early beliefs are that Joseph Spell is guilty.

However, Marshall knows that Friedman is the guy that can get the jury to back him. He tells Sam “I need a partner who the jury can relate too.” Friedman seems to get his reality check when white people beat him up because he is representing a black man. There is an interesting case history that you can read more about in this article.

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The trailer really highlights Thurgood Marshall, Eleanor Strubing, and Joseph Spell’s character. The prosecution believes Marshall has no chance and want him to take a plea deal, while Strubing is ferocious in her attack on Spell. In the meantime, Mr. Spell takes the stand and maintains his innocence. Even though Marshall is seen telling Spell “You lied in a sworn statement, why would you do that?” Spell then spouts back, “because the truth gets me killed.”  Marshall states, “If you want freedom, you have to fight for it. The only way through a bigot’s door is to break it down.”

This movie will only focus on a small time frame of his life. However, it is going to be an important aspect and give a good understanding of who he is and what he fought for. I hope they capture his fighting spirit and his talent at a time when talent was not enough for a person of color.

Marshall will be out in theaters on October 13, 2017