Film: Watchable Washington can’t save dull drama

Roman J Israel, Esq almost immediately shatters into a dozen confusing plotlines before a final collapse into unearned sentiment

Denzel Washington in Roman J Israel, Esq

Cinema

Roman J Israel, Esq: Directed by Dan Gilroy, Nationwide, 12A,Rating:***

Journey’s End: Directed by Saul Dibb, Nationwide, 12A,Rating:***

Screenwriter Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut Nightcrawler was a dark satire on media sensationalism that gave Jake Gyllenhaal one of the best roles of his career, playing a socially maladjusted “citizen journalist” creeping around Los Angeles dispassionately videotaping car accidents and murder scenes for the nightly news. Gilroy’s follow-up Roman J Israel, Esq employs a ...