The Chicago Seven

I have been mainlining THE WEST WING like it’s my job for the past month (sorry, Erik), so you know I watched THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN as soon as it premiered on Netflix. I’m pleased to report that the movie is everything I hoped/expected/worried it would be: incredible performances and costumes, gorgeous but overwritten monologues about the importance of democracy, and a sliiiight oversimplification of the conflicts within the Seven. Come for Jeremy Strong playing a hippie, stay for the all-too-relevant history lesson disguised as entertainment. 

—Julia Hammer, Creative Exec

We cannot recommend Garret Bradley's brilliant documentary, TIME, on Amazon Prime enough. Weaving together years of home footage, this is a decades-spanning story of the Richardson family in Louisiana. Robert Richardson was put in prison on a 60-year sentence in the early 90s for armed robbery—and his wife, Fox, has been working ever since to get him out. A humane exploration of a broken criminal justice system, this movie is educational but also emotionally wrenching. It's a poignant exposition of the passing of time told in a linear and digestible way that will have you in tears by the end. Please check this one out—it warranted the first double rec in PS Weekly history! 

—Bennett Levine, Executive Assistant & Lucy Putnam, Development Assistant

FRANCESCO, the new documentary on Pope Francis’ life, premiered on Wednesday at the Rome Film Festival. The biggest takeaway from the doc was that the Pope has endorsed same-sex civil unions for the first time, saying that gay people have the right to be in a family since they are “children of God.” The documentary, which finished shooting this past June, also tackles the pandemic, racism, and sexual abuse. It will premiere in the US on Sunday at the Savannah Film Festival. 

—Darlene Kenney, Marketing Assistant