East Ohio Conference

East Ohio Conference

≡
  • About Us
    • Welcome/Vision
    • Bishop's Office
    • Conference Staff
    • Districts/Churches
    • Annual Conference
    • Jurisdictional Conference
    • General Conference
    • General Agencies of The UMC
    • Christian Family Credit Union
    • Methodist Foundation of Ohio
  • Ministries
    • Connectional Ministries
    • Strategic Ministries
    • Missions & Community Engagement
    • Multicultural Ministries
    • Young People's Ministries
    • Higher Education
    • Camps & Retreat Ministries
    • Spiritual Formation
  • Disaster Response
    • Responding to Disasters
    • EOC Disaster Response Plan
    • Disaster Response Coordinators
    • Early Response Teams
  • Clergy
    • Pathways to Ministry
    • Board of Ministry
    • Order of Elders
    • Order of Deacons
    • Fellowship of Local Pastors
    • Retired Pastors
    • Clergy Directory
    • Clergy Well-Being
    • Changing Pastors?
    • Continuing Education
    • Sexual Ethics Policy
  • Laity
    • Pathways to Ministry
    • Board of Laity
    • Lay Leaders
    • Lay Servants
    • United Women in Faith
    • General Agencies of The UMC
  • Finance/Benefits
    • Financial & Administrative Services
    • Online Forms
    • Online Payments
    • Shared Ministry/Stewardship
    • Health Benefits
    • HealthFlex Wellness
    • Clergy Pensions
    • Death & Disability Benefits
  • Communications
    • About the Office
    • #BeUMC Campaign
    • Storyboard Podcast
    • Church Websites 411
    • Social Media 411
    • CCLI & CVLI Licensing
    • E-News
  • News
    • East Ohio News
    • E-News
    • Obituaries
    • Classifieds
  • Resources
    • Conference Journal
    • #BeUMC Campaign
    • CCLI & CVLI Licensing
    • Lighthouse Churches
    • Portico Online Learning
    • Resilient Leadership
    • Teach • Reach • Bless
    • Stand Against Racism
    • EOC Disaffiliation Pathway
    • Stand with Ukraine
    • Coronavirus (COVID-19)
    • Online Worship Services
    • The Rule of Christ
    • Safe Sanctuaries
    • Message in Movies
    • Archives and History
    • General Agencies of The UMC
    • UMC Find-A-Church
  • Calendar
    • View Calendar
    • Suggest Calendar Event
  • Events Registration

Home | Message in the Movies

MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Film strip

Just Mercy - In Theaters

halo halo halo halo halo pitchfork pitchfork pitchfork Rated PG-13

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Starring Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” This is one of my favorite quotes from Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard-educated black lawyer who decided to specialize in defense of the poor with a commitment to obtain justice for those wrongly convicted. He also was determined to show compassion for those struggling when one bad decision puts them on death row. Just Mercy is a grace-filled biopic that simply shares Stevenson’s efforts to create the Equal Justice Initiative (told in greater detail and clarity in his bestselling book).

The film spends most of its time dealing with the case of Walter McMillan (Foxx), a logger from Alabama who was arrested and charged with the murder of a young white woman. Although Walter was at a family gathering at the time of the murder (with multiple witnesses), the testimony of Ralph Myers (Tim Blake Nelson) – an ex-felon – was enough for a jury to convict him of the crime. The case was put on trial in Monroeville, Alabama, the home of Harper Lee and To Kill a Mockingbird.

It required years of research and patience for Stevenson and his team to come to the aid of McMillan. The case involved the corrupt Sheriff Tate (Michael Harding) as well as district attorney Tommy Champan (Rafe Spall) who was reluctant to consider new evidence. While the film focuses on Myers, Tate and Champan as problematic obstructions to justice, the real villain here is a criminal justice system that is broken and overworked. The film also includes two other prisoners on Death Row (Rob Morgan and O’Shea Jackson Jr.) in sympathetic fashion – although both of them have been rightfully convicted.

Just Mercy brought to mind the famous Martin Luther King Jr. quote “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” There are no quick fixes that will eradicate injustice, racism and mass incarceration. But Stevenson and his Equal Justice Initiative team demonstrate the patience and persistence necessary for moral living.

I quote again from Stevenson: “Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion.”

Just Mercy is a stealth faith-based film, with positive representations of grace, church and scripture. I highly recommend it for viewing, discussion, and action. For justice doesn’t continue by simply talking about the message in the movies, but in demonstrating love and compassion in daily life.

Halo and Pitchfork Rating:

Five halos: A simple yet powerful film about justice for all and defense of the innocently convicted.
Three pitchforks: Scenes of violence, including death by electrocution; brief occasional racist epithets; injustice.

Comment:

Do you have comments about this movie or movie review? E-mail your comments. (Your name and UM affiliation must be supplied in order for your comments to be posted.)

 

≡
  • Current Review
  • Past Reviews

 

Bryant

Reviews by
Rev. Bruce Batchelor-Glader

COMMENTS! Do you have comments about this movie or movie review?
E-mail comments. (Comments will be posted to our web site.)

The East Ohio Conference Office:
located in North Canton, OH,
near Akron-Canton Airport.

Address:
8800 Cleveland Ave. NW
North Canton, OH 44720

Phones/Fax:
Local: (330) 499-3972
Toll Free: (800) 831-3972
Fax: (330) 499-3279

Office Hours:
Monday through Friday
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

 

  • Facebook Instagram Twitter Vimeo Flickr

  • Bishop's Office
  • Districts and Churches
  • Conference Staff
  • POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
  • Safe Sanctuaries
  • Sexual Ethics
  • CCLI & CVLI Licensing
  • Terms of Use Policies
  • RESOURCES:
  • Conference Journal
  • E-News
  • News Archives
  • Archives and History
  • EAST OHIO CONFERENCE
  • 8800 Cleveland Ave. NW
  • North Canton, OH 44720 Map
  • (800) 831-3972
  • www.eocumc.com

East Ohio Conference Logo© EAST OHIO CONFERENCE. All Rights Reserved.