Lawyers, as a profession, are not typically championed by Hollywood. There are infamous courtroom dramas, but the work they do is often secondary to broader narratives or racial, political or societal talking points. The protagonist is often a hero not because he’s a lawyer but because he was different from the rest.
The HBO documentary “Gideon’s Army” however sees lawyers, particularly public defenders, as people with great burdens that need to be seen and heard in AA style meetings or as soldiers who are thanked for their service by congressmen. It’s a big morality tale about holding your head high under enormous pressure, and it makes for heart-rending drama.
“Gideon’s Army” follows two public defenders in the South taking on two very similar cases. In each, a bright 20-year-old boy has been charged with armed robbery for small amounts of money, which would result in a minimum of 10 years in prison with the possibility of a life sentence.
The movie astutely points out that the flaw in the system is that most people in this situation or similar ones, regardless of innocence or not, would take a plea deal to lessen their sentence. And if they were poor, they’ll rot in jail for weeks, months or even years awaiting a trial as their life collapses around them.
You can wager a guess if you’ve seen say, “Hoop Dreams,” that one of these kids will be found innocent and the other will not, in which case “Gideon’s Army” is not really about the defendants or the broken system the movie merely laments, but their lawyers and the blood, sweat and tears they put into defending them.
The two public defenders are Travis Williams and Brandy Alexander, each juggling upwards of 150 cases at a time, each dealing with crippling student loans and arduous hours that cut into their social lives. Travis has no family and a girlfriend he doesn’t have time for, and Brandy at one point claims she has only $3 to her name. Hopefully this will get her home and back to the office again the next day when she gets paid.
“Gideon’s Army” empowers their work ethic by editing the movie in such a way that their losses are not failings but impenetrable and unseen impasses that make their effort all the more moving. One powerful scene shows Brandy in a hopeless one-sided phone call. She’s pulled strings to get her client’s charges completely dropped, but only if someone can raise $3000 for bail money. No luck, and that’s one more life ruined.
The vindication comes in the form of knowing that these people believe in what they’re doing, believe in the people they’re defending even if some of the people are rightfully evil and are doing all they can to make a difference. It all comes to fruition in a 20-minute long courtroom scene that matches up with some of the best scripted courtroom dramas out there.
“Gideon’s Army” may follow something of a formula and be too much a champion for the cause, but it’s a noble, moving documentary of unexpected emotion.
3 stars