Michael B. Jordan is Trailblazing Civil Rights Attorney Bryan Stevenson in Just Mercy Trailer

A stellar cast, an incredible true story, and a super talented co-writer and director? Such are the ingredients of Destin Daniel Cretton‘s Just Mercy, which stars Michael B. Jordan as civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson (the film is adapted from Stevenson’s book “Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption”), as he tries to free a death row inmate who had been sentenced for a murder that he didn’t commit. Warner Bros. has released the film’s stirring first trailer, which shines a spotlight on an excellent cast digging into a potent true story. While Warner Bros. is riding high after Joker made such a huge splash at the Venice Film Festival, Just Mercy will be having its world premiere this week at the Toronto International Film Festival, and all eyes will be on this one.

Stevenson takes on the case of Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of a young white woman who was working as a clerk in a dry cleaning store in Monroeville, Alabama. During his trial—which lasted a mere day and a half—three witnesses testified against McMillian, while the jury ignored the testimony of black witnesses who said, under oath, that he was at a church fish fry while the crime was committed. Stevenson then took on the case in postconviction, taking on a state and a system not inclined towards mercy for African-American men already behind bars.

The trailer is riveting. The cast includes Brie Larson, as Eva Ansley, a local advocate who becomes a crucial ally of Stevenson. Check out the trailer here:

Here’s the official synopsis from Warner Bros:

A powerful and thought-provoking true story, “Just Mercy” follows young lawyer Bryan Stevenson (Jordan) and his history-making battle for justice. After graduating from Harvard, Bryan had his pick of lucrative jobs. Instead, he heads to Alabama to defend those wrongly condemned or who were not afforded proper representation, with the support of local advocate Eva Ansley (Larson). One of his first, and most incendiary, cases is that of Walter McMillian (Foxx), who, in 1987, was sentenced to die for the notorious murder of an 18-year-old girl, despite a preponderance of evidence proving his innocence and the fact that the only testimony against him came from a criminal with a motive to lie. In the years that follow, Bryan becomes embroiled in a labyrinth of legal and political maneuverings and overt and unabashed racism as he fights for Walter, and others like him, with the odds—and the system—stacked against them.

Just Mercy is due in theaters on January 10, 2020.

Featured image: Caption: (L-r) JAMIE FOXX as Walter McMillian and MICHAEL B. JORDAN as Bryan Stevenson in Warner Bros. Pictures’ drama JUST MERCY, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Photo Credit: JAKE GILES NETTER