With directorDestin Daniel Cretton’sand producer/starMichael B. Jordan’s adaptation ofBryan Stevenson’smemoirJust Mercynow playing in theaters around the country, I recently sat down withBrie LarsonandKaran Kendrickto talk about the film. If you’re not familiar with Stevenson’s incredible story, he studied law at Harvard University and after graduating moved to Alabama to defend people who had been convicted without proper representation. One of his first cases wasWalter McMillian(played byJamie Foxx), who was an innocent man condemned to death for the killing of an 18-year-old girl.Just Mercyalso starsBrie Larson, O’Shea Jackson Jr.,Rafe Spall,Tim Blake Nelson,Rob Morgan, andKaran Kendrick.
During the interview, Brie Larson & Karan Kendrick talked about how they got involved in the movie, why art can inspire people and how this film can change people’s minds and hearts, their reaction reading the book, and more.
Finally, if you’d like to help support the Equal Justice Initiative that Stevenson founded in 1989,click herefor the website. The organization is committed to ending mass incarceration and excessive punishment in the U.S., challenging racial and economic injustice, and protecting basic human rights for the most vulnerable people in American society.
I know you have a lot of choices at the movie theater, butJust Mercyis one of those special films that I can’t recommend enough. Check out what he had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.
Brie Larson & Karan Kendrick:
Here’s theJust Mercy official synopsis:
A powerful and thought-provoking true story,Just Mercyfollows 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.
