I came away disappointed by the film adaptation of Just Mercy. This is probably a given, but the film adaptation is very overly-dramatized, and not completely true to the story. While this is expected, I find it in this case to be in somewhat poor taste considering everything is a portrayal of real-life people and real-life events.
Having read the book, you would see that the racism that actually took place was seriously watered down for the film adaptation. The film also touches on things from the book briefly but not enough to give you the entire picture or depth of the situation. For example, the film also briefly follows Herb, who is being executed for murdering a girl. While the film touches on his PTSD and having been a veteran, and "making a bomb", the film doesn't explain, like the book did, that it was illegal for the state of Alabama to execute Herb because he had no intention of killing anyone (he made the bomb as part of a convoluted plan to "rescue" his old girlfriend and win her back, but instead the bomb killed her young daughter). The state of Alabama executed him anyway after Stevenson's last minute appeal because it was "too late".
In the movie, Herb also has "no family" and gives his flag to Stevenson. In real life, he was surrounded by family, including a new partner who refused to give him up when he had to be taken away to be executed (by the way, his execution in the film is just a simple "thud").
I also found Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Walter McMillian to be wildly inaccurate. In the movie, he blows up upon first meeting Stevenson, and comes off as someone who is nonchalant about life at Holman Correctional Facility and knows everything about the decorum there. He even refuses Stevenson's services at first. In real life, Walter was traumatized by the conditions at Holman and during his case was desperately seeking Stevenson's attention over that of his fellow inmates.
There are several critiques I have for the film, but I don't want to spoil the central story. I strongly recommend you read the book instead, because you will walk away from it with a much more thorough understanding of our criminal justice system and what's really going on in America.
Having read the book, you would see that the racism that actually took place was seriously watered down for the film adaptation. The film also touches on things from the book briefly but not enough to give you the entire picture or depth of the situation. For example, the film also briefly follows Herb, who is being executed for murdering a girl. While the film touches on his PTSD and having been a veteran, and "making a bomb", the film doesn't explain, like the book did, that it was illegal for the state of Alabama to execute Herb because he had no intention of killing anyone (he made the bomb as part of a convoluted plan to "rescue" his old girlfriend and win her back, but instead the bomb killed her young daughter). The state of Alabama executed him anyway after Stevenson's last minute appeal because it was "too late".
In the movie, Herb also has "no family" and gives his flag to Stevenson. In real life, he was surrounded by family, including a new partner who refused to give him up when he had to be taken away to be executed (by the way, his execution in the film is just a simple "thud").
I also found Jamie Foxx's portrayal of Walter McMillian to be wildly inaccurate. In the movie, he blows up upon first meeting Stevenson, and comes off as someone who is nonchalant about life at Holman Correctional Facility and knows everything about the decorum there. He even refuses Stevenson's services at first. In real life, Walter was traumatized by the conditions at Holman and during his case was desperately seeking Stevenson's attention over that of his fellow inmates.
There are several critiques I have for the film, but I don't want to spoil the central story. I strongly recommend you read the book instead, because you will walk away from it with a much more thorough understanding of our criminal justice system and what's really going on in America.