Justice

Minneapolis civil-rights-lawyers-turned-filmmakers Almonor and Shuman used the festival circuit, and a limited run on the cable channel Black Starz!, to get this debut feature to the public. It's a good strategy for this indie urban drama that's long on ideas and conviction, but short on polish and flair.

Spike Lee collaborator Smith stars as J.C. Carter, a public defender who, by pursuing fair trials over plea bargains for his disadvantaged clients, runs afoul of a racist judge (Hamilton). Ignoring the entreaties of his suburban-bred wife (Calhoun) to join a high-powered firm, Carter opens an inner-city storefront law practice to combat the systematic incarceration of African-American males.

If Almonor and Shulman had kept their story focused rather than allowing it to drift into cliches, Justice might have offered something more than polemics. Instead, tired stereotypes undermine strong messages about prisons as a surging industry and the moral obligations of black professionals to the expanding underclass.

A Peabody Award winner for his role in A Huey P. Newton Story, Smith opts for quiet intensity over flash, although even he can't make the trite ending believable. Hamilton does his best with his one-dimensional role, while veteran character actor Anna Maria Horsford is a welcome presence as Carter's boss. Newcomers Joe Minjares and Amy Matthews provide warmth and naturalism just when the narrative gets a little too shrill, but the film's chief value is that it offers a perspective rarely seen on screen.—Andrea Gronvall