Netflix’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 revisits one of the most notorious American trials of the 20th Century, as retold by The Social Network and The West Wing’s Aaron Sorkin. Featuring a stellar ensemble cast, we said “Aaron Sorkin has produced a thoughtful meditation on a truly nightmarish event, a Kafka-esque distortion of due process” in our Trial of the Chicago 7 review.
But while the drama chronicles the lives of the defendants during their legal battle, Sorkin’s film doesn’t engage in the traditional fact check “where are they now/what happened to them in real life” sort of coda we’ve come to expect from such “based on a true story” films. There are only passing mentions of the fates of some of the people -- like Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden (husband of Jane Fonda) and more portrayed in the film.
