Just Mercy Blu-ray Review #JustMercy


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.



 MY REVIEW
When I first heard about the movie, Just Mercy, I was watching Ellen when Michael B. Jordan came on stage to promote it. Then after learning that this movie was based on a true story and that the person he portrayed, Bryan Stevenson, was also a guest on the show, I had to go out and get the book the movie is based off of. I did. I read it within a few days and then I was very excited to get sent the movie to review. 

This movie has an amazing cast, each person portraying a real person and acting their heart out, you can tell that a lot of work went into making this movie to show people what can happen when racism is involved. I'm a black woman and grew up in a black family. I'm no stranger to seeing and witnessing racism growing up towards myself and members of my family. So this movie did hit close to home seeing someone get sentence for most of their life for a crime they didn't commit just because of the colour of their skin. I cried. A lot. I cried because this happened in the past to many innocent people because of the colour of their skin and because racism issues like this are still happening today, decades later. 

The film begins in the year 1987, the year Walter McMillian is arrested for a crime her did not commit because of one coerced testimony. You can tell from the arrest and the coerced testimony that the sheriff is under a lot of pressure and is just trying to wrap this case up as fast as he can to solve the murder of a white woman.  

Most of the movie is focused on Bryan Stevenson, as he graduates from Harvard in the early 90's and moves to Alabama to take on this case (among others) to prove that Walter is innocent. We see Bryan file for many appeals to get a wrongful conviction and witness racism throughout the system, starting from the sheriff all the way to the judge. Throughout this case we see Bryan receiving racism towards him as well for trying to get his client out, from being pulled over by cops, to having to strip down to visit his client, we see how far the system goes when hate is involved. 

A story that should be watched by all, Just Mercy is now available today, March 24th, on digital download and you can catch the release of this film on blu-ray and DVD April 14th! For more information about Just Mercy, be sure to head over to Warner Bros.

Disclosure: All opinions are my own. I received Just Mercy on blu-ray at no cost for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was received.

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