just mercy movie review

We are republishing this piece on the homepage in allegiance with a critical American movement that upholds Black voices. For a growing resource list with information on where you can donate, connect with activists, learn more about the protests, and find anti-racism reading,  click here . “Just Mercy” is currently streaming for free on Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube. #BlackLivesMatter.

“Just Mercy” has the misfortune of hitting theaters at the same time as “ Clemency ,” a more daring and better film set on a prison’s Death Row. Though the lead characters differ in intent— Michael B. Jordan ’s activist Bryan Stevenson is trying to get prisoners off the row while Alfre Woodard ’s warden Bernadine Williams oversees their executions—the two actors each have moments of stillness where they seem to physically vibrate from the internal trauma they’re suppressing. This is built into Woodard’s character intrinsically, but for Jordan, it feels more like an actor doing his best to rise above the paper-thin characterization he has been given. Stevenson is so noble and flawless that he’s a credible bore unless you focus on Jordan’s physicality. You look into his eyes and see him trying to play something the film’s cautious tone won’t allow: a sense of Black rage.

Since the days of ’50s-era message pictures, the majority of films about African-American suffering have always been calibrated the way “Just Mercy” is, with an eye to not offending White viewers with anything remotely resembling Black anger. We can be beaten, raped, enslaved, shot for no reason by police, victimized by a justice system rigged to disfavor us or any other number of real-world things that can befall us, yet God help us if a character is pissed off about this. Instead, we get to be noble, to hold on to His unchanging hand while that tireless Black lady goes “hmmm-HMMMMM!” on the soundtrack to symbolize our suffering. There’s a lot of “hmmm-HMMMMM”-ing in this movie, so much so that I had to resist laughing. These clichés are overused to the point of madness. Between this, the equally lackluster “ Harriet ” and the abysmal “ The Best of Enemies ,” that poor woman’s lips must be damn tired from all that humming.

Movies like “Just Mercy” spoon-feed everything to the viewer in easily digestible chunks that assume you know nothing, or worse, don’t know any better. They believe that, to win the hearts and minds of racists, you can’t depict any complexity lest you ruin the “teachable moment” the film is supposed to be presenting. It’s unfortunate that these teachable moments are so often delivered in the exact same, tired manner, as if they were meant for people who are perpetually having to repeat the same grade. Making matters worse, the White perpetrators of injustice are so often one-note villains that they allow for plausible deniability by the viewer: “I can’t be racist because I’m nowhere near as bad as THAT guy!” Granted, this is a period piece true story and the film can’t bend its real-life people too deeply into dramatic license, but director and co-writer Destin Daniel Cretton applies a way-too-familiar formula to their personalities.

Despite my complaints, I have some admiration for how much “Just Mercy” is willing to interrogate. It’s a lot, and I feel some commendation is in order for bringing these issues up at all. Adapting Stevenson’s memoir, Cretton and his co-writer Andrew Lanham touch upon activists for Death Row prisoners, the value of White lives vs. Black lives, veterans whose PTSD is left unchecked, corrupt law officials, justice system imbalances and, in a subplot anchored by Tim Blake Nelson , the idea that poor people are victimized by law enforcement regardless of what color the impoverished person is.

I remember watching the “60 Minutes” profile re-created here, where Stevenson takes the case of Walter McMillian ( Jamie Foxx ) to the public. McMillian was on Death Row for a crime he swore he didn’t commit, the death of a young White woman. Despite having 17 witnesses vouching for his whereabouts at the time of the murder, an Alabama jury of 11 White men and one Black man convicted McMillian based on the testimony of an ex-con named Ralph Meyers (Nelson). Stevenson took his case to the CBS airwaves after his successful attempt to get McMillian’s case reopened ended with a judge named after Robert E. Lee discarding Myers’ admission that he’d lied under oath in the first trial. All of this is completely believable in reality, but here, both the corrupt Sheriff Tate ( Michael Harding ) and the district attorney are depicted as cartoon villains acting alone rather than in service to a far more racist and corrupt system. You have to wait until midway through the closing credits to discover that Tate was re-elected multiple times after his role in McMillian’s railroading was exposed.

I should mention that this case took place in Monroeville, Alabama, also known as the home of “ To Kill a Mockingbird ” author Harper Lee. I bring up Lee because her book, and its subsequent cinematic adaptation, are ground zero for all the aggravating clichés I mentioned above. So it’s no coincidence that “Just Mercy” plugs Michael B. Jordan into the Atticus Finch role. Like Gregory Peck in that immortal performance, Jordan has presence, idealism and righteousness on his side. What’s missing is the commanding sense of authority Peck brought to the part, which isn’t Jordan’s fault at all. Stevenson is a somewhat naïve Yankee from Delaware trying to navigate the ways of the Deep South; Finch was an Alabama native with a paternal glow.

As Stevenson’s co-worker Eva, Brie Larson reteams with her “ Short Term 12 ” director but is given little to do other than to be threatened once she re-opens McMillian’s case. Still, she milks a lot of character out of the simple act of smoking a cigarette. Foxx’s McMillian is written in a similarly flat manner, but he shines in his few scenes with fellow Death Row inmate Herbert Richardson ( Rob Morgan ). Richardson’s arc is the one truly successful element of “Just Mercy,” and Morgan’s excellent, heartbreaking performance is being unfairly overshadowed by Foxx’s this awards season. A Vietnam vet with severe PTSD, Richardson caused the death of a young girl when a bomb he planted on her porch exploded. Unlike McMillian, Richardson is guilty of the crime and believes he belongs on Death Row. He was unable to get help for his mental issues before he committed his crime, and the prosecutor withheld this information during the trial.

Morgan shades his small part with such beautiful, subtle gestures that he becomes the only character who feels fleshed out, complex and real. You feel not only his sense of guilt but the demons that infected his brain during combat. His last, horrific scene is so well acted that it still haunts me; it’s the only time the viewer is forced to be uncomfortably conflicted, to think about the complicated nature of injustice. I wish the rest of “Just Mercy” had that level of jarring complexity instead of relying on easy tropes to deliver its message.

“Just Mercy” is currently streaming for free on Amazon, Google Play, and YouTube.

Odie Henderson

Odie “Odienator” Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire  here .

• Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson
• Jamie Foxx as Walter McMillian
• Brie Larson as Eva Ansley
• O’Shea Jackson Jr. as Anthony Ray Hinton
• Rafe Spall as Tommy Champan
• Rob Morgan as Herbert Richardson
• Tim Blake Nelson as Ralph Myers
• Karan Kendrick as Minnie McMillian
• Andrew Lanham
• Destin Daniel Cretton

Cinematographer

• Brett Pawlak

Writer (based on the book by)

• Bryan Stevenson
• Joel P. West
• Nat Sanders

Leave a comment

Now playing.

Bloody Axe Wound

Nosferatu (2024)

A Complete Unknown

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

The Fire Inside

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Latest articles.

The Wicked Witch Is Dead: The Double-Bind of the Villainess’s Backstory

The Great Craft of 2024

Sony’s “Frank Capra at Columbia” 4K Box Set Encapsulates One of America’s Great Filmmakers

“Squid Game” Returns with Sharp Filmmaking, New Ideas in a Transitional Season

The best movie reviews, in your inbox.

Advertisement

Supported by

‘Just Mercy’ Review: Echoes of Jim Crow on Alabama’s Death Row

Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan star in an adaptation of a memoir by the civil rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson.

• Share full article

‘Just Mercy’ | Anatomy of a Scene

Destin daniel cretton narrates a sequence from his film, featuring jamie foxx and rob morgan..

“Hi, my name is Destin Cretton. I’m the director of ‘Just Mercy.’ This is a scene between Walter McMillian. Played by Jamie Foxx, and Herbert Richardson, played by Rob Morgan. And they are in cells on death row in Alabama. They share a wall. They’re directly next to each other. And one of the really interesting things that I learned from speaking with Anthony Ray Hinton, who was on death row in Holman Prison for 30 years for a crime he did not commit, was the camaraderie and relationships that they had between jailmates that were completely based on conversations they were having without being able to see each other. Bryan Stevenson said in his book that you cannot really fully understand a problem unless you allow yourself to get very close to it. And that was something that we were playing with with the camera, was leading up to this very scene. The cameras started off wider on these characters. And this was the scene where we actually bring the camera as close as possible to both Walter McMillian and Herbert Richardson. And I mean, you’ll see how close we are. Their eyes are in focus. Their nose is out of focus. And the camera was literally a couple inches from their faces.” “In and out.” [BREATHING DEEPLY] “Now close your eyes.” “Our DP, Brett Pollock, was really wanting to shoot all of these jail cells scenes as close to reality as possible. So in this scene in particular, there really is just the light source that’s coming in from outside the jail cell, which gives this kind of amber hue. That is really going to be a big contrast to the moment when we go outside through Walter McMillian’s escape vision in his mind that takes him back to the moment in the beginning of the movie when he is out in the forest and looking up at the trees. To capture the performances of this scene, we actually shot with two cameras running simultaneously, with Jamie Foxx in one cell and Rob Morgan in the other— which was very helpful for a scene like this, because it was quite loose. And it allowed the two actors to really be in it and respond to each other. And both sides of the conversation were captured. So we didn’t have to do too many editing tricks for this scene.” “I don’t want you to think about nothing else. Just keep your mind on that. Everything gonna be aight.”

By A.O. Scott

Bryan Stevenson’s “Just Mercy” is a painful, beautiful, revelatory book, the kind of reading experience that can permanently alter your understanding of the world. Partly a memoir of Stevenson’s career as an activist and a lawyer specializing in death-penalty appeals, it is also a meditation on history and political morality, a clearsighted and compassionate reckoning with racism, poverty and their effects on the American criminal justice system.

The new film based on the book, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton ( “Short Term 12” ) from a script he wrote with Andrew Lanham, conveys at least some of its gravity and urgency. It focuses on an early, pivotal episode in Stevenson’s career, when he represented Walter McMillian, an Alabama man who had been sentenced to die for a murder and who insisted on his innocence.

Stevenson, played by Michael B. Jordan, is a recent graduate of Harvard Law School who arrives in Alabama in the late 1980s with a quiet idealism that many of the locals — both those who are hostile to his cause and those who support it — take for naïveté. They gently and less gently suggest that as a native of Delaware with a northern education, he can’t possibly understand the tenacity of white Southern habits of racial domination, which some of the white residents insist are not racist at all. McMillian himself, known to his family and neighbors as Johnny D (and played by Jamie Foxx), at first refuses Stevenson’s help. The injustice of his trial was so blatant that opposing it seems almost like a waste of time. Other lawyers have come and gone, taking money from Johnny D’s wife, Minnie (Karan Kendrick), and leaving him to languish on death row.

The drama of “Just Mercy” is mostly procedural. Stevenson and his colleagues, including Eva Ansley (Brie Larson), work to establish Johnny D’s alibi and to challenge the testimony of a dubious witness (Tim Blake Nelson). Stevenson also runs up against the malevolent arrogance of the sheriff (Michael Harding) who led the investigation and the duplicity of the new district attorney (Rafe Spall), whose initial politeness turns to condescension and contempt.

What is clear is that Stevenson isn’t just challenging a single conviction, but also the deep legacies of slavery and Jim Crow. Like many of the lynching victims of the past, Johnny D threatened racial hierarchies, both because he was economically independent (owning a successful pulpwood business) and because of an affair he had with a white woman. His adultery is painful for Minnie and their children, and represents an unacceptable transgression of racial and sexual taboos to the sheriff and other white people.

Jordan plays Stevenson as a man of heroic decency, but this kind of role comes with constraints. He is consistently admirable but not always dramatically interesting, and whatever fear, doubt or anguish he experiences in his work is telegraphed through speeches and music-heavy moments. His inner life is a territory the film leaves unexplored.

“Just Mercy” is saved from being an earnest, inert courtroom drama when it spends time on death row, where it is opened up and given depth by two strong, subtle performances, from Foxx and Rob Morgan. Foxx, 15 years after his Oscar-winning turn in “Ray,” still somehow seems underrated and underutilized. Johnny D provides a welcome reminder of how good he can be; he conveys the man’s guardedness and his vulnerability, his kindness and his fury, with the smallest eye movements and vocal inflections, which makes the big emotional scenes all the more powerful.

But it’s Morgan, as Herbert Richardson, another inmate awaiting execution, who leaves the deepest impression. Richardson, a Vietnam veteran, doesn’t deny his guilt, and the mixture of remorse, terror and simple grief he feels as he contemplates his fate is heartbreaking. Morgan keeps doing remarkable work (in “Mudbound” and “The Last Black Man in San Francisco,” as well as on the Netflix series “Stranger Things”), and he deserves a louder fanfare.

Rated PG-13. Discussions of murder and execution, but very little on-screen violence. Running time: 2 hours 16 minutes.

A.O. Scott is the co-chief film critic. He joined The Times in 2000 and has written for the Book Review and The New York Times Magazine. He is also the author of “Better Living Through Criticism.” More about A.O. Scott

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

What Is a New York Movie? : Whether it was “A Complete Unknown” with 1960s Greenwich Village or “Anora” with present-day Brooklyn, filmmakers put new frames around the city .

From Bad Boy to Good Dad : Christian Slater’s tumultuous past has given way to a “very happy” family life . He plays a father on “Dexter: Original Sin,” too — but to keep a serial killer in check, you still need some edge.

Sex, Death and Nicole Kidman : Between her experience on “Babygirl” and her mother’s death, the star has come to understand a lot about women in unfulfilled lives .

Streaming Guides:  If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Watching Newsletter:  Sign up to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows  to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

Review: ‘Just Mercy’ shines brightest when painful truths are exposed

• Copy Link URL Copied!

Bryan Stevenson, an attorney whose exceptional work is dramatized in “Just Mercy,” does not take the easy way out in his professional life, and this film tribute to him and what he’s accomplished also chooses a challenging path.

As the founder and executive director of the Equal Justice Initiative, Stevenson has dedicated the past 30 years to, among other things, providing legal services to death row inmates and has saved more than 125 unjustly sentenced people from execution in the process.

As directed by Destin Daniel Cretton , “Just Mercy” focuses on Stevenson’s legal beginnings, on the first seemingly impossible case he took on.

But though it features Michael B. Jordan as the man himself, “Just Mercy” is not simply about bringing a hero to life. (Those looking for a sense of who Stevenson is and the entirety of his career should check out the fine documentary “ True Justice : Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality.”)

Rather, the film is at its most convincing when doing something more difficult: allowing us, emotionally, to feel the extent of the crisis Stevenson has made his life’s work.

As co-written by Cretton and Andrew Lanham based on Stevenson’s memoir, “Just Mercy” calmly presents a world where entrenched racism, suffocating intimidation and an all but closed legal system stack the deck, to a terrifying extent, against impoverished defendants of color.

Michael B. Jordan says Bryan Stevenson is the ‘real-life superhero’ of ‘Just Mercy’

Michael B. Jordan produced and stars in the biopic “Just Mercy,” which had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival to great acclaim.

It is not for nothing that one of Stevenson’s most quoted remarks is that “the opposite of poverty is not wealth. The opposite of poverty is justice.”

A powerful asset in making these points is the film’s impressive group of supporting players (Carmen Cuba was the casting director for the film, as she was for “Queen & Slim”).

Especially effective is the group of actors (Jamie Foxx, Tim Blake Nelson, Rob Morgan, Darrell Britt-Gibson, J. Alphonse Nicholson and O’Shea Jackson, among others) who portray individuals whose lives have been mangled beyond recognition by being trapped in the machine.

Introduced first is Walter “Johnny D.” McMillian, a pulpwood worker strongly played by Foxx (who already earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for his work), initially almost unrecognizable behind a thick mustache.

Almost as soon as we meet McMillian in 1987, we watch as he’s arrested in Alabama’s Monroe County by Sheriff Tom Tate (Michael Harding) on charges of murdering an 18-year-old white woman in Monroeville, which happens to be the hometown of Harper Lee, who wrote “To Kill a Mockingbird.”

Though there is a brief prologue of Stevenson as a student, he’s introduced more fully as a recent Harvard Law graduate who gives his family pause when he turns down big jobs to go to Montgomery, Ala., and “fight for people who need help the most” — death row inmates.

Though he has the assistance of local activist Eva Ansley (Brie Larson, who starred in Cretton’s previous “Short Term 12” and “The Glass Castle”), Stevenson doesn’t initially understand what he’s up against with the local power structure.

A visit to Holman prison and its death row, where he endures a humiliating strip search, and a stonewalling conversation he has with the seemingly affable district attorney, Tommy Champan (a spot-on Rafe Spall), begin a process of education for both Stevenson and the audience.

Though “Just Mercy” spends time with several of the death row inmates Stevenson has represented, most of its focus is on McMillian, and the film truly comes alive when the two men meet. Foxx, throwing himself into the character, explosively expresses a total lack of confidence in, and near contempt for, this young attorney.

“What you going to do different?” he all but sneers after listing the failures of the lawyers who represented him in the past. “All they going to do is eat you alive and spit you out.”

McMillian, as it turns out, is not the first person to underestimate Stevenson’s grit, ferocious perseverance and passion for justice. Not one for grandstanding, he simply refuses to be discouraged or even consider backing down.

Stevenson eventually realizes that all roads in the McMillian case lead to Ralph Myers, a white career criminal whose questionable testimony was valued more by the jury than the numerous African American alibi witnesses the defense produced.

Myers is played with compelling eccentricity by Tim Blake Nelson , who recently starred for the Coen brothers as the very different Buster Scruggs . Myers’ shifty, twitchy, damaged personality holds us completely, and his interactions with Stevenson provide some of the film’s high points.

Another strength of “Just Mercy” is its refusal to tiptoe around what it took to make McMillian the first man ever freed from Alabama’s death row — a long, tortuous and difficult process despite compelling evidence of his innocence.

The film portrays the ferocious resistance of some people to the possibility that this man had nothing to do with the crime. And that’s when “Just Mercy” is at its best.

'Just Mercy'

Rating: PG-13 for thematic content, including racial epithets Running time: 2 hours, 17 minutes Playing: Opens Dec. 25 at AMC Century City, Arclight Hollywood

More to Read

In Netflix’s ‘The Piano Lesson,’ two generations of Black Hollywood meet in the middle

How the 2017 march in Charlottesville inspired me to write ‘The Order’

Getting at the heart of American darkness, Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult go deeper than ever

Only good movies

Get the Indie Focus newsletter, Mark Olsen's weekly guide to the world of cinema.

You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.

Kenneth Turan is the former film critic for the Los Angeles Times.

More From the Los Angeles Times

Olivia Hussey, star of 1968 ‘Romeo and Juliet’ film, dies at 73

Column: An Oscar-winning L.A. council member? Gov. Danny Trejo? Gustavo’s 2025 predictions

Justin Baldoni’s ex-publicist sues over alleged Blake Lively smear campaign

‘Baby Driver’ actor Hudson Meek dies at 16 after falling from moving vehicle

Most read in movies.

Review: As the boss of ‘Babygirl,’ Nicole Kidman does a bad, bad thing

Guy Pearce never chased Hollywood. His power patron in ‘The Brutalist’ is the best revenge

Lamorne Morris likens himself to his ‘Saturday Night’ character: ‘You’re the Black dude’

Review: In ‘A Complete Unknown,’ a cryptic Bob Dylan comes into view, gifted and callous

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

‘just mercy’: film review | tiff 2019.

THR review: Before entering the Marvel universe with 2021's 'Shang-Chi,' Destin Daniel Cretton offers 'Just Mercy,' an Earthbound story of justice starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx.

By John DeFore

John DeFore

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

A straightforward biopic that views one American’s long career of fighting injustice through the lens of an early victory he won in Alabama, Destin Daniel Cretton’s Just Mercy stars Michael B. Jordan as Bryan Stevenson, founder of that state’s Equal Justice Initiative. Having spent three decades overturning the convictions of the wrongly imprisoned and defending anyone on death row, Stevenson has been at the vanguard of a righteous fight. So it’s not surprising if the film’s edge is somewhat dulled by respect for its subject, who’s drawn here as more hero than man. A sturdy example of this genre, in which persistence and faith lead to the righting of terrible wrongs, it will likely move younger viewers who haven’t seen many like it. Those of us who have seen truly exceptional examples (in both feature and documentary form) will be content to admire Stevenson himself, and to enjoy a rich performance by Jamie Foxx as the man he saved from the electric chair.

Foxx plays small-town entrepreneur Walter McMillian, introduced to viewers in a moment of transcendence through labor: Having just felled a tall tree, he gazes up at the hole he has just opened into the sky. It’s the closest he’ll get to freedom for a long time, as he’s arrested on the drive home by cops who are longing for an excuse to shoot him on the spot. McMillian is accused of the long-unsolved murder of a local white girl and, in a parody of justice, he’s quickly sentenced to death — despite there being no physical evidence and a multitude of witnesses (all black, unfortunately) backing up his alibi.

Release date: Jan 10, 2020

Around the same period, Stevenson, a Harvard law student, is working as an intern in Georgia, where he shares a human moment with a death-row inmate whose background is similar to his own. He finishes school and, over the protests of his fearful mother, moves south to defend death-row inmates free of charge. (The script, by Cretton and Andrew Lanham, might have tossed us two lines explaining how he manages to support himself.)

In Alabama, Stevenson quickly learns how resistant the white establishment is to those who sympathize with felons. In scenes that occasionally echo some of Sidney Poitier’s onscreen confrontations with bigotry, he is stalked by men in police cruisers, kicked out of the office he has rented and even strip-searched when he first visits new clients in prison — demeaned by a bland-faced guard who grins at his humiliation.

A local who has signed on as his paralegal, Eva Ansley (frequent Cretton collaborator Brie Larson , in a throwaway sidekick role), lets her boss move into and work out of her home, sharing work space with her son’s toys. But as their work raises eyebrows in town, the situation becomes difficult: Older viewers will immediately know that when a phone rings at night, and a young boy says, “It’s for you, Mom,” there’s about to be a racist on the line issuing death threats.

Of all the incarcerated men whose cases Stevenson takes up, McMillian’s a holdout — sure that fighting his conviction is pointless and that this young lawyer will be no better than the last, who disappeared as soon as the family’s money ran out. (Bryan hears lots of variants of “that’s exactly what the last guy said.”) But when Stevenson arranges a meeting with Walter’s wife (Karan Kendrick) and supporters, his seriousness is impossible to deny. Walter agrees to work with him, setting the film on its largely familiar procedural trek through shocking evidence of malfeasance, thwarted legal maneuvers and eventual triumph in a courtroom bathed in sunlight.

The story is most involving at its margins: Walter’s friendships with the men (O’Shea Jackson and Rob Morgan) stuck in the cells next to his, for example; or scenes in which Stevenson tries to get the felon whose false testimony got McMillian convicted (Tim Blake Nelson) to admit that he lied. And in one or two harrowing moments, the film communicates the way Stevenson’s up-close interaction with the institution of capital punishment informed his work. But as played by Jordan, this crusader is more Boy Scout than Erin Brockovich — a steadfast champion of the downtrodden with none of the complications that make characters breathe onscreen.

Jordan serves as straight man for the beaten-down magnetism of Foxx, whose character understands things about the world the younger man can’t fathom. A couple of Foxx’s scenes are transfixing enough to make you hold your breath without realizing it. The big courtroom moments the pic constructs for Stevenson, by contrast, sound like prepackaged American idealism. That’s not to deny that everything he says is 100 percent true; but speeches don’t always make for great movies, even in courtrooms where they beg to be delivered.

Production companies: Gil Netter Productions, Outlier Society Distributor: Warner Bros. Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Brie Larson, Rob Morgan, Tim Blake Nelson, Rafe Spall, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Karan Kendrick Director: Destin Daniel Cretton Screenwriters: Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham Producers: Gil Netter, Asher Goldstein, Michael B. Jordan Executive producers: Mike Drake, Daniel Hammond, Gabriel Hammond, Michael B. Jordan, Charles D. King, Niija Kuykendall, Bryan Stevenson, Jeff Skoll Director of photography: Brett Pawlak Production designer: Sharon Seymour Costume designer: Francine Jamison-Tanchuck Editor: Nat Sanders Composer: Joel P. West Casting director: Carmen Cuba Venue: Toronto International Film Festival (Gala Presentations)

Rated PG-13, 136 minutes

Related Stories

Toronto: hollywood reporter's photo portfolio with jennifer lopez, constance wu, tom hanks, michael b. jordan and more, thr newsletters.

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

James gunn defends the delay of ‘the batman’ sequel: “a 5 year gap or more is fairly common”, ‘saturday night’ director jason reitman says chevy chase told him he “should be embarrassed” about film, box office: ‘sonic 3’ and ‘mufasa’ in close battle for christmas crown, ‘a complete unknown’ shines, charles shyer, writer-director on ‘baby boom’ and the ‘father of the bride’ remakes, dies at 83, olivia hussey, star of franco zeffirelli’s ‘romeo and juliet,’ dies at 73, dayle haddon, model and actress, dies at 76 in suspected carbon monoxide leak.

• Login / Sign Up

Believe that journalism can make a difference

If you believe in the work we do at Vox, please support us by becoming a member. Our mission has never been more urgent. But our work isn’t easy. It requires resources, dedication, and independence. And that’s where you come in.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Just Mercy is a powerful argument against the death penalty

The film — based on Bryan Stevenson’s book and starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx — is flawed but vital.

by Alissa Wilkinson

The American practice of capital punishment is inextricably linked to much of what’s wrong with our justice system — its focus on punitive rather than restorative measures; its indisputable bias against the poor, mentally ill, and marginalized; its captivity to racial bias . These issues aren’t up for much debate.

But despite support for abolishing or at least reforming the death penalty from both progressives and a healthy number of pro-life conservatives , it’s also not something most Americans have to think about a lot. Few people find their own lives touched by the death penalty, and it’s in the best interests of its supporters not to say much about the details in public.

Since 1976, for every nine Americans executed by the state, one is exonerated and released from death row — a margin of error that should terrify us all. (And yet, after years of decline, American support for the death penalty ticked up in 2018.)

That’s precisely what Just Mercy , a true story that will set your sense of injustice ablaze, aims to change.

Just Mercy is a story of idealism that becomes tempered by reality and sharpened by injustice

Based on Bryan Stevenson ’s bestselling 2014 memoir of the same name, Just Mercy tells the story of Stevenson’s early career as an attorney working to reverse wrongful convictions in Alabama and details the founding of his organization, the Equal Justice Initiative . The film focuses on the case of Walter “Johnny D” McMillian, a poor black man who was arrested in 1987 for the murder of an 18-year-old white girl and convicted based on testimony that later turned out to be fabricated. After years of legal battles, McMillian’s story became a national case, and his convictions were at last reversed in 1993.

It is a plainly infuriating story, and Just Mercy doesn’t try to disguise its most angering aspects: the racism and bias against the poor that led to McMillian’s conviction; the twisting of the pursuit of justice into the pursuit of reputation; the ways the powerful protect their own.

And the film is smartly designed to deliver its message into as many hearts as possible. Directed and co-written by Destin Daniel Cretton ( Short Term 12 , The Glass Castle , and Marvel’s upcoming Eternals ), Just Mercy stars a bevy of actors who get audiences in the door, led by Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson. Foxx’s performance, in particular, seems like a solid bet for an Oscar nod.

Jordan plays Stevenson, a recent Harvard Law graduate raised in Delaware who feels compelled, after completing an internship in Alabama during law school, to take the state’s bar and move south to work with death row inmates. His mother is angry at him — she’s afraid of what will happen to a black man in the deep south who dares to take on that task — but he’s full of ideals and undeterred. (He’s also driven by his faith, something the film conveys mostly through visual cues, such as when he prays with inmates, but was a big part of Stevenson’s real-life motivation .)

Stevenson arrives in Monroeville, Alabama — the county where Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird , many residents, including the white district attorney, proudly inform him. People keep telling him to go to “the Mockingbird museum”; it’s “one of the most significant civil rights landmarks in the south,” the DA says.

But what Stevenson finds in Monroeville is a death row full of inmates who seem to have ended up there for reasons that are less than just. Even Herbert Richardson (Rob Morgan) — who confesses immediately to Stevenson that he did what he’s been convicted of doing — is obviously mentally ill, suffering from PTSD following a harrowing tour of duty in Vietnam.

In reviewing his new case load along with local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson), Stevenson realizes that the conviction of one inmate in particular, McMillian (Foxx), is almost certainly wrong. The further he digs into the case, the more he realizes that it’s linked to some of Monroeville’s ugliest attitudes and secrets. The entire case against McMillian is based on testimony from a convicted murderer (Tim Blake Nelson) who was offered a plea deal in exchange for fingering McMillian.

Stevenson and Ansley know the whole thing stinks. But their quest to reverse McMillian and others’ convictions fly right in the face of the powerful, and Stevenson’s experiences with McMillian begin to change the shape of his own idealism.

Just Mercy has some key storytelling flaws, but is still worth watching

Just Mercy ’s greatest strength as a film is its true story, and Cretton chooses to keep the focus on the plot. The movie is structured like a straight-ahead procedural, with all the usual beats. It’s more workmanlike than imaginatively scripted or shot, which is a little disappointing — there was certainly an opportunity to set the film apart from other procedural films or movies about death row, but this one sticks to familiar vocabulary.

And in following that template, it also falls into a distressing rut. McMillian, after all, was innocent. And it’s easy to get indignant on behalf of the wrongfully convicted.

But by dint of McMillian’s story being the easiest sell to the audience, someone like Richardson — who did in fact commit the crime — ends up as a side story, albeit one that’s powerfully told and embodied by Morgan. As the Equal Justice Initiative’s website argues , the death penalty is rooted in the practice of lynching, and there are myriad arguments, both practical and philosophical, for why people who are not innocent still ought not to be executed by the state.

Still, the film’s point comes across by the end: Not only is capital punishment barbaric, but the system that orchestrates it is grossly flawed. Several time, the film illustrates how the threat of the electric chair is used to coerce and intimidate people who have not even been convicted (McMillian was put on death row a year before his trial). Fear, as a tool wielded by those who enforce and enact the law, should have no place in the pursuit of justice and the protection of innocence. But it does, all the same.

And that should matter to everyone who cares about a just society. Not every American will know someone personally touched by the death penalty. But shifting how we think about capital punishment will shift the way we think about what the justice system is for. (We are, after all, governed by a president who brashly, publicly called for the execution of five teenagers in 1989 , and refuses to recant even after their exoneration, saying their coerced testimonies should still be taken as fact — a rhetorical move that will seem familiar after you see Just Mercy .)

In spite of its shortcomings, Just Mercy is still the sort of film that’s worth watching and absorbing and discussing, because the story it tells has not stopped being relevant in the decades since Stevenson and McMillian met. America’s history of injustice has not gotten less dark in recent years. And we cannot willfully blind ourselves when our brothers’ and sisters’ blood continues to cry out from the ground .

Just Mercy premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. It opens in theaters on Christmas Day.

• Criminal Justice

More in this stream

Most Popular

• You’re being lied to about “ultra-processed” foods
• Take a mental break with the newest Vox crossword
• Stop setting your thermostat at 72
• The Air Quality Index and how to use it, explained
• If you want to find a match, try swiping this time of year

Today, Explained

Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day.

This is the title for the native ad

More in Culture

Plus, what Pantone’s color of the year says about taste and class.

It wasn’t the easiest year, but 2024 was not without its bright spots.

Veteran Minneapolis DJ Bill DeVille explains A Complete Unknown for fans and newbs alike.

She’s an expert in funny, but her relationship with rabbits is very serious.

Justin Baldoni allegedly paid a team to take down his costar. Social media was primed to do it for free.

In 2004, critics demanded better than mediocre Christmas movies. Why are we so reluctant to do so now?

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists
• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Games
• Video Reviews of Games
• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• Big Kids (7-9)
• Tweens (10-12)
• Teens (13-15)
• Digital Parenting Anxiety
• First Phones
• Social Media
• Parental Controls
• AI Companions
• Generative AI

Parents' Ultimate Guide to First Phones (2024)

• All Parents' Ultimate Guides
• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• Quiz: How social media savvy is your child?
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Jewish Experiences
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Multicultural Books

YouTube Channels with Diverse Representations

Podcasts with Diverse Characters and Stories

Parents' guide to.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 14 Reviews
• Kids Say 19 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Effective, intense drama about racism and justice; swearing.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Just Mercy is a fact-based courtroom drama that tackles the subjects of racism and the death penalty. It centers on idealistic young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. Jordan), who travels to Alabama to help save a wrongfully convicted man on Death Row (Jamie Foxx). It has strong…

Why Age 13+?

Language includes multiple uses of "s--t" and the "N" word, plus "bulls--t," "so

Upsetting execution scene that includes pretty much everything except the actual

Dr. Pepper vending machine shown, Coke mentioned. Sunkist orange soda mentioned

Beer. Cigarette smoking.

During a forced strip-search, Bryan is shown shirtless; he removes his pants and

Any Positive Content?

Every life has meaning. Very strong messages about importance of doing the right

Bryan Stevenson is portrayed as a very positive role model, achieving his law de

Parents need to know that Just Mercy is a fact-based courtroom drama that tackles the subjects of racism and the death penalty. It centers on idealistic young lawyer Bryan Stevenson ( Michael B. Jordan ), who travels to Alabama to help save a wrongfully convicted man on Death Row ( Jamie Foxx ). It has strong language, including multiple uses of "s--t" and the "N" word. There are also some violent and/or upsetting scenes, including a police officer pointing his gun at Bryan's head and the lead-up to a character's death by execution. But violence is primarily conveyed through dialogue, including discussions of murder (shooting and strangulation), the planting of a bomb, and a character getting burned. There are also moments of anger and hate/racism. Bryan is forced to strip for a search; he's humiliated as he removes his shirt and (below the frame) pants and underwear. There's also brief, mild sex-related dialogue, and brief smoking and beer drinking. The story isn't surprising, but it's very effective, with clear messages of perseverance, the importance of doing the right thing, fighting hard for those who need it the most, and the problematic relationship between bigotry and justice.

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Language includes multiple uses of "s--t" and the "N" word, plus "bulls--t," "son of a bitch," "bitch," "ass," "shut your mouth," and "damn."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Violence & Scariness

Upsetting execution scene that includes pretty much everything except the actual death. A police officer points his gun at the main character. Character is beaten. Spoken references to violence, including a murder ("strangled and shot"), the planting of a bomb, and a character being burned. Hateful, racism-motivated acts (forced strip-search, etc.). Moments of anger/rage. Implied suicide attempt. A character is told to "bend over and spread."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Dr. Pepper vending machine shown, Coke mentioned. Sunkist orange soda mentioned and shown. Jujyfruits candy mentioned and shown. Jif peanut butter jar shown.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

During a forced strip-search, Bryan is shown shirtless; he removes his pants and underwear below the frame. Sex-related dialogue.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Positive Messages

Every life has meaning. Very strong messages about importance of doing the right thing, no matter the odds, fighting hard for those who need it the most, and problematic relationship between bigotry and justice. Black people in a small, Southern town are targeted by the law based on how they look, and movie clearly points out how wrong that is. It also depicts what an uphill battle it is to change hearts and minds; this is about one small victory in a bigger fight.

Positive Role Models

Bryan Stevenson is portrayed as a very positive role model, achieving his law degree from Harvard, deliberately choosing to work in a place that could be physically dangerous to him, working for free for the folks who need him most. He faces difficult odds, keeps persevering. Eva is also a positive role model, giving her time and her house to the cause, though she has less to do, is seen here mainly offering her support for Bryan. Walter has made some poor choices in the past, but he's no murderer, and once his faith in Bryan is established, he works hard to help with his case.

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents Say (14)
• Kids Say (19)

Based on 14 parent reviews

Real world story of racial injustices in the death penalty

A moving film, what's the story.

In JUST MERCY, young lawyer Bryan Stevenson ( Michael B. Jordan ) decides, after completing an internship helping Death Row inmates, to devote himself to the cause full-time. He moves to Monroeville, Alabama (home of Harper Lee ), teams up with Eva Ansley ( Brie Larson ), and starts focusing on the case of Walter "Johnny D." McMillian ( Jamie Foxx ). Johnny D. was accused and convicted of killing a teen girl based on the testimony of two unreliable witnesses. Bryan thinks it will be easy to prove that Johnny D. was nowhere near the crime scene at the time of the murder, but he quickly finds that the white establishment in Alabama isn't so eager to allow a convicted murderer back out on the street, no matter what the evidence says. Can Bryan find justice for his client?

Is It Any Good?

It follows a pretty traditional arc, but this prison/courtroom drama is still effectively tense and moving thanks to fine performances and the picture it presents of simmering racial injustice. Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton , Just Mercy almost always feels like a movie. All of the familiar beats, speeches, and plot turns happen just when they're supposed to, without the messiness of life coming into it (as it did so vividly in Cretton's remarkable breakthrough feature, Short Term 12 ). But the film quickly establishes a good sense of place, from Bryan suffering the indignities of being Black in Alabama to the large gathering of friends and neighbors at the home of Johnny D.'s family when Bryan goes to see them.

Just Mercy also offers a slate of solid supporting characters -- including a subtly menacing district attorney ( Rafe Spall ), a candy-munching convict ( Tim Blake Nelson ), and Johnny D.'s next-cell neighbors on Death Row ( O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Rob Morgan ) -- all of whom add to the movie's texture. Then, as the pieces of the puzzle come together, occasionally blocked by bigotry and corruption, the tension and excitement start to ramp up. The final piece is Foxx, who's very good as Johnny D., hardened and reluctant to hope anymore. In the moments he does actually find hope, his emotion is palpable.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Just Mercy 's violence. Given that the movie chooses not to show its most violent acts, does that make the movie less violent?

Is Bryan Stevenson a role model ? How does he demonstrate perseverance ?

How does the movie portray racism? How about the relationship between racism and justice/the law?

How accurate do you think this movie is to events as they actually happened? Why might filmmakers choose to alter the facts in a movie that's based on a true story? Check out the documentary version of Bryan's story.

To Kill a Mockingbird is referenced many times in this movie. How does that story compare to this one?

Movie Details

• In theaters : December 25, 2019
• On DVD or streaming : March 27, 2020
• Cast : Michael B. Jordan , Jamie Foxx , Brie Larson
• Director : Destin Daniel Cretton
• Inclusion Information : Asian directors, Black actors, Female actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Activism
• Character Strengths : Perseverance
• Run time : 136 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG-13
• MPAA explanation : thematic content including some racial epithets
• Award : NAACP Image Award - NAACP Image Award Winner
• Last updated : November 20, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality

The Hate U Give

The Hurricane

When They See Us

On the Basis of Sex

Unlocking the Truth

Trial by Fire

Dead Man Walking

Erin Brockovich

Murder in the First

The Shawshank Redemption

A Few Good Men

A Time to Kill

Courtroom dramas, biopic movies, related topics.

• Perseverance

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

We sent an email to [email protected]

Didn't you get the email?

By joining, you agree to the Terms and Policies and Privacy Policy and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

• About Rotten Tomatoes®
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening This Week
• Top Box Office
• Coming Soon to Theaters
• Certified Fresh Movies

Movies at Home

• Fandango at Home
• Prime Video
• Most Popular Streaming Movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• 86% Nosferatu Link to Nosferatu
• 77% Babygirl Link to Babygirl
• 79% A Complete Unknown Link to A Complete Unknown

New TV Tonight

• -- Lockerbie: A Search for Truth: Season 1
• -- Missing You: Season 1
• -- Animal Control: Season 3
• -- Going Dutch: Season 1
• -- The Way Home: Season 3
• -- The Rig: Season 2
• -- RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 17
• -- Isadora Moon: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• 84% Squid Game: Season 2
• 93% Black Doves: Season 1
• 91% Star Wars: Skeleton Crew: Season 1
• 83% One Hundred Years of Solitude: Season 1
• 70% Dune: Prophecy: Season 1
• 20% Beast Games: Season 1
• 78% No Good Deed: Season 1
• 84% The Day of the Jackal: Season 1
• 79% Landman: Season 1
• 75% The Madness: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV

Certified fresh pick

• 84% Squid Game: Season 2 Link to Squid Game: Season 2
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

25 Most Inspirational Movies: Motivational Movies To Jump Start The New Year

Marvel TV Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming.

Awards Tour

Lilo & Stitch : Release Date, Trailer, Cast & More

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2025

• Trending on RT
• Verified Hot
• Renewed and Cancelled TV
• Awards Season
• Re-Release Calendar

Just Mercy Reviews

While succumbing to a small amount of melodrama, Just Mercy is ultimately a moving film about integrity, injustice, and the indictment of our criminal justice system.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Aug 24, 2022

There can't be any doubt about the sincerity of Just Mercy, though it did not need to exceed two hours' running time to establish these points.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 23, 2022

The movie doesn’t feel particularly fresh or new, but it’s unwavering in its honesty and dedication to its characters...

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 22, 2022

This is still an important story to tell, and if the film doesn’t do anything interesting or exciting with the material, it is still solid and ends on a high note. It works, and there’s nothing more it needs to do than that.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | May 13, 2022

Although Just Mercy is a little long at more than two hours it may have been better told as a miniseries and takes a while to get going, its worth persevering with for the heartfelt portrayal of this remarkable man.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 21, 2022

Just Mercy is a great companion to the ongoing discussion regarding the death penalty, bringing a relevant and integral view to the topic.

Full Review | Feb 12, 2022

Jamie Foxx - stellar turn in his performance.

Full Review | Sep 15, 2021

Just Mercy is one of those films that reminds us why some movies are more than just vehicles for financial gain.

Full Review | Aug 12, 2021

Just Mercy easily solidifies its main point about a system that fails to protect the innocent.

Full Review | Jul 23, 2021

...what's left is a fine, crowd-pleasing piece of cinema made from masterpiece-worthy source material. It's capable of being far greater than this...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 22, 2021

Michael B. Jordan's stirring legal drama packs a powerful, emotional punch...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 9, 2021

Just Mercy is another great showcase for Jordan, Larson, Foxx, and Cretton, and a reminder that advocates like Stevenson are needed to ensure our justice system remains fair for everyone.

Full Review | Feb 17, 2021

A graceful, sharp and impeccably acted film that packs an emotional punch in the quietest and most profound ways possible.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Feb 11, 2021

Filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has infused Just Mercy with a matter-of-fact sensibility that suits his and Andrew Lanham's familiar screenplay quite well.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 11, 2021

The film shows us how the legal system can be manipulated by the rich and privileged across the globe. Although Just Mercy takes its time to get there, the conclusion is unquestionably impactful.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 11, 2021

Just Mercy isn't a groundbreaking film, but it's an optimistic one. If you need a little hope and emotional release these days, this movie will give you some.

Full Review | Feb 11, 2021

Foxx does his best work in a decade. For the charismatic Jordan, who puts in a tone-setting nuanced turn here, Just Mercy arrives between Creed II and Tom Clancy's Without Remorse. Let's hope he sticks with the "one for them, one for me" formula.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 11, 2021

"Just Mercy" is solid, meat-and-potatoes docudrama filmmaking, if you don't mind a first-rate story of systemic injustice undercut by second-rate dialogue.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 11, 2021

Unlike many movies "based on a true story," "Just Mercy" sticks close to the facts of the case - for the simple reason that the facts are drama enough.

It's both rage-inducing and awe-inspiring; the courage conveyed by the protagonists is a balm on the sting of injustice.

• Warner Bros.

Summary Just Mercy follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Michael B. 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 ... Read More

Directed By : Destin Daniel Cretton

Written By : Destin Daniel Cretton, Andrew Lanham, Bryan Stevenson

Where to Watch

Michael B. Jordan

Bryan stevenson, walter mcmillian, brie larson, charlie pye jr., charlie the tree expert, michael harding, sheriff tate, christopher wolfe, j. alphonse nicholson, henry davis, prison guard, jacinte blankenship, christy stevenson, bryan g. stevenson, howard stevenson, jr., brad sanders, howard stevenson, sr., charmin lee, alice stevenson, sebastian eugene hansen, kris ansley, bill freeman, office manager, dominic bogart, doug ansley, hayes mercure, jeremy doss, herbert richardson, david garlock, prison interviewee, robert caston, talmedge hayes, critic reviews.

• All Reviews
• Positive Reviews
• Mixed Reviews
• Negative Reviews

User Reviews

Related movies, lawrence of arabia (re-release), the passion of joan of arc, my left foot, 12 years a slave, the social network, schindler's list, the irishman, the wild child, we were here, reversal of fortune, the diving bell and the butterfly, the act of killing, the look of silence, related news.

2025 Movie Release Calendar

Jason dietz.

Find a schedule of release dates for every movie coming to theaters, VOD, and streaming throughout 2025 and beyond, updated daily.

DVD/Blu-ray Releases: New & Upcoming

Find a list of new movie and TV releases on DVD and Blu-ray (updated weekly) as well as a calendar of upcoming releases on home video.

The Worst Movies of 2024

We rank the lowest-scoring films released in 2024.

December 2024 Movie Preview

Keith kimbell.

The month ahead will bring a new Robert Eggers horror film, likely Oscar contender The Brutalist, a Lion King sequel, a Bob Dylan biopic, and more. Get details on these and all of the other notable films debuting this month.

The 15 Best Ridley Scott Movies

We rank the highest-scoring films directed by Ridley Scott from throughout his entire career.