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It's 1965, and Dovey Roundtree (Joy White) is a black lawyer who's too good to be true, Not only is she a civil rights activist in her sparetime and runs a women's shelter on the side, she's also active in her church and helps the oppressed in court. So when Martha Crump (Devon Mathews) asks her to defend her son Raymond (Terrence Monbrun) in court, a young black man who has been accused of shooting a white woman, Mary Pinchot Meyer (Elisabeth Joy), who's later revealed to have been John F. Kennedy's (Christopher Phipps) secret lover, execution style, she accepts the challenge for one Dollar, and going through the evidence she soon notices that it's all circumstancial, non-conclusive and at times full of holes. And sure, Crump made a false statement to the police (without even knowing he needed an alibi) but his clothes show no signs of a struggle that was supposed to have happened before the murder, he has never handled a gun let alone was able two precise shots, and  furthermore the murder weapon was never found, quite aside from the fact that he had no motive for the crime - it all hinged on the fact that a black man dressed in similar attire as him was round leaning over the dead body. So one by one, she takes apart the prosecutors (Lance Henry) arguments and witnesses - but will this be enough to acquit a black man in still not racism-free USA, and might the CIA be involved due to the political implications of the murder?

Now I will say that Dovey's Promise is a bit bland in its portrayal of its titular character, she seems to be a saint who's virtually flawless - and I freely admit, the real Dovey Rondtree might have been just that - flawlessness just doesn't make a good movie character. The other problem I have with this movie is its somewhat protracted courtroom scenes that could have done with some trimming - like we don't need to see every witness to be sworn in. But that all said, when it comes to the actual trial, Dovey's Promise is a courtroom thriller as exciting as they come, the dialogue's sharp, the arguments are stringent, and plenty of twists and turns provide the necessary suspense. And on top of that, Joy White competently leads a solid cast, making this a pretty exciting watch for sure.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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