A film worth watching, especially for those who know little or nothing about TheTrial of the Chicago 7

 Like it or not, Aaron Sorkin has a certain style and an undeniable talent for building entertainments out of the wheelings of government, the media, and the business world - and his current (2020) Netflix movie, The Trial of the Chicago 7, exemplifies his work, for better or worse. And I have to admit I was entertained and sometimes astonished by this film, which recreates, using only a small amount of documentary footage, the epochal political trial of the '60; for those who didn't live through the era, it may be astonishing to watch this film, which may lead some to think that it had to be made up. It's not - the courtroom drama, to the best of my memory - is quite closely (though not entirely) based on the trial itself - 7 political leaders from some widely diverging factions on the left arrested by the Nixon administration and charged w/ conspiracy based on their loose association and general proximity during the demonstrations in Chicago during the '68 Democratic convention. It was widely known at the time that the Chicago police were ordered to storm and brutalize the unarmed street protesters; the news footage of the era was astonishing and sickening. It was also obvious to all of America the Judge Julius Hoffman was incompetent and completely unjust - culminating with this order for literally gag Bobby Seale, the only Black defendant - a judicial order so outrageous as to get up the ire of even the prosecutors. So in that regard the movie is powerful and a welcome document and remembrance even generations later. Of course the film at times gets waylaid by the Sorkin style: All of the characters sound sharp and witty and pointed, but they all sound like the same person (Sorkin?) and he never really succeeds in building sympathy for Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman (couldn't anyone help Sacha Baron Cohen in his hapless struggle w/ a Boston accent?) - they annoyed me as much as they annoyed the judge, though maybe that was the intent? In any event, the film is entertaining and informative, worth watching especially for those who think the times could never be more out of joint than at present.