In 1968 the leaders of anti-war protest movements stood trial for conspiracy to incite a riot at the Democratic National Convention. The indictments brought against the defendants by President Nixon’s new Government were political in nature and an effort to quash the anti-war movement.

Writer/director Aaron Sorkin is the perfect person to bring this subject matter to the big screen. Veteran writer of prestigious political television series The West Wing and The Newsroom and a glittering array of credits on films such as The Social Network, Steve Jobs, Moneyball and A Few Good Men he is the master of fast paced dialogue that is able to convey complex plot lines with large casts. The opening scenes in this film are a perfect example of this skill when we are introduced to eight different defendants from multiple groups, the lawyers on both sides of the bench and the judge whilst being given the political context of the time all setting up a blistering court room trial.

In a star studded cast we are treated to an array of excellent performances. The two key leaders in the group of defendants are portrayed by Eddie Redmayne and Sacha Baron Cohen. Men with the same principles but opposed attitudes to how to get to that goal. Redmayne plays the more strait laced protester who wants the movement to be taken seriously whilst Cohen is much more of a hippie with revolution on his mind. Sacha Baron Cohen has never been better on screen and his double act with Jeremy Strong is a fantastic watch. Elsewhere in the group there is John Carroll Lynch as a conscientious objector and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the leader of a Black Panther group who has been thrown in to make them look scarier. Council is provided by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a young ambitious prosecutor who occasionally appears to have cause for concern over his task and Mark Rylance who gives another beautifully considered performance as an exasperated defence attorney. The judge is portrayed brilliantly by Frank Langella as the true villain of the piece. His treatment of Abdul-Mateen’s Black Panther is disgraceful and his decisions will leave you wanting to yell in protest. And then the likes of Michael Keaton shows up in a telling cameo to put the icing on the cake.

It is yet another film that makes you wonder how something based on real life events of 52 years ago can feel so prescient. A group of protestors being beaten by police indiscriminately and politicians taking personal slights as reason to try to destroy their lives. One banner outside the courthouse reads “Lock Them Up”. And yet, for such a heavy subject Sorkin manages to deliver an incredibly exciting and funny film. There are many laugh out loud moments, exhilarating revelations in the case and events that will have you despair but you will always be gripped.

An absolute must watch and I am sure a contender when awards season comes around.