In ignoring the lived reality of colorism, Marshall creates a circumscribed version of blackness that's easy for white audiences to consume, lacks any sort of challenging narrative, and bypasses the more fascinating wrinkles in its characters' lives.
Boseman has headlined biopics before as James Brown and Jackie Robinson, and here, he imbues the young Marshall with a quiet confidence and a dogged devotion to truth and justice.
The problem with this hokey courtroom drama isn't that it says the right thing in the wrong way, the problem is that it ultimately doesn't say anything at all.
While slowly choking on the worthiness of its subject matter, Marshall putters along perfectly pleasantly, and messrs Gad and Boseman are a winning double act.
This real-life case makes for an entertaining courtroom drama that nonetheless reduces Marshall to the level of Perry Mason and consigns to the end credits his greater triumphs.
