A review of John Lewis: Good Trouble

© Danny Lyon/Magnum Photos/Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Watching this documentary, I was immediately struck by the understated power of Georgia Representative John Lewis. Whether he’s marching in Alabama, advocating for civil rights, delivering a passionate speech in Washington DC, or simply talking about his chickens, his magnetism is evident. He’s a man genuinely of and for the people. 

This is a film that registers in your chest, with an electricity in your bones. It chronicles a life of focused determination that starkly highlights the difference between morality and legality. Accomplished director Dawn Porter – who has long tackled heavy subjects like abortion, public defenders in the legal system, race and civil rights – deftly creates a film that feels both historically important and emotionally intimate.

By putting John Lewis in a dark room alone, watching a large screen playing rare archival footage of the civil rights movement and his own participation in it, Porter invites both her subject and her audience to contemplate a life’s work, a movement, and where we are today.

It begs the question, how far have we really come? And what is it going to take for us to dismantle systems of racist oppression to save our democracy? As alarming as the current situation is, there is a persistent message of love, strength, and agency.

A soulful soundtrack, skillful filmmaking, and careful character study brings both the history of civil rights and race relations in this country into sharp relief. Throughout, Lewis invites us to wake up, to have hope, and to foster change.

In the words of the legend: “It’s time for all good people… to get into trouble. Good trouble.”

John Lewis: Good Trouble is available to rent at home on both YouTube and Film Streams until 8/6/20. It’s a women-led film that is a part of Film Streams See Change initiative taking aim at gender parity in the film industry, making the films we’ve reviewed 25% women-led. Read about the initiative here.

Contributor

Kate Ryan Brewer is a filmmaker and writer based in Omaha, NE.