Michael B. Jordan Shone in Just Mercy Six Years Before Sinners

Sinners has dominated awards season, earning a record 16 Oscar nominations and widespread praise for Michael B. Jordan’s dual performances as "Smoke" and "Stack" Moore. Yet six years earlier a courtroom drama made clear the same dramatic range. Just Mercy, which holds an 85% critic rating and a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, signaled that Jordan could carry emotionally complex, real-life material.

In Just Mercy Jordan portrays Bryan Stevenson, a Harvard graduate who travels to Montgomery, Alabama, to defend people who cannot afford legal representation. He helps establish the Equal Justice Initiative with Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) and takes on Walter "Johnny D." McMillian (Jamie Foxx), an African American man convicted three years earlier of killing an 18-year-old white girl.

As Stevenson uncovers inconsistencies in testimony and evidence, he faces institutional racism, physical threats and the risk of losing his career while seeking to overturn the conviction.

United States, Montgomery, Alabama

michael b, jordan, just mercy, sinners, bryan stevenson, walter mcmillian, equal justice, brie larson, jamie foxx, courtroom drama