Qhis evening at 9.20pm on Rai 3 it airs Saint Judy2019 film with Michelle Monaghan about the life of Judy Wood. Lawyer who, with tenacity and passion, revolutionized the American legal system on rights for immigrant women and asylum seekers.
Saint Judythe plot of the film on Rai 3
Single mother and successful lawyer, Judy Wood (Michelle Monaghan) divides her life between home and work. One day, with her little Alex (Gabriel Bateman), moves to Los Angeles at the request of her ex-husband, who wishes to spend more time with the child. Thus, after having established herself in New Mexico as one of the most famous defense lawyers, Judy starts from scratch at the immigration law firm of Ray Hernandez (Alfred Molina).
The new tasks are expand the customer base and help increase revenue, but the task is not easy. In a short time, however, his is starting to circulate when dealing with complex immigration cases. Like the one of a young Afghan woman named Asefa (Leem Lubany) who catches the lawyer’s attention.
In fact, the girl was indicted in her homeland for wanting to teach girls to write and for this reason she had been raped and imprisoned before fleeing to America. She ended up in a cell because she was accused of illegal immigration, Asefa is released from prison thanks to Judy, who with her efforts manages to change the rules on the right to asylum. Thus saving the lives of thousands of women.
A film that delves into the judicial territories dear to John Grisham
Directed by Sean Hanish, Saint Judy reconstructs, with some minimal variations, an event that happened in the 1980s and moved to the early 2000s. Played by a very good Michelle Monaghanthe film bears some resemblance to the story of Erin Brockovich – brought to the screen by Julia Roberts in 2001 –, focusing on a tenacious woman who fights for the rights of the least.
Compared to Soderbergh’s film, this delves into the judicial territories dear to John Grishambut avoiding action scenes and thriller elements, and focusing on psychology of a woman successful at work but fragile at home.
Therefore balancing psychological introspection with the civil passion of a fearless woman, Saint Judy And an overtly political film made in the midst of the Trump era. When the former president of the United States had recently started the construction of a border wall in Mexico as a measure against illegal migration from Latin America to the United States.
A necessary film thereforegiven the times, and precisely for this reason he allows himself to be forgiven for a few too many didactic moments.
A scene from the movie “Saint Judy”. (Erica Parise/Forefront Media Group)
The true story of Judy Wood
Born in New York in 1961Judy Wood, incredible but true, before enrolling in law school she works for about a year as an actress on Broadway. Graduated from Pepperdine Law School in 1982, since the end of the 1980s he has defended the rights of immigrants, families and persecuted people.
Judy Wood in 2018. (Getty Images)
After some apprenticeship, Judy became famous throughout the world at the end of the 1980s, when she defended theAfghan teacher Asefa Ashwariresorting to judicial precedents of historical trials such as, in France, that of the Iranian Mehran Karimi Nasseri.
Director of the Human Rights Projecta non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for refugee rights around the world, Judy recently won the Wonder Woman award of the city of Los Angeles.
Still very active todaythe lawyer, commenting on the release of the film at the time, declared «I never, ever imagined that my life would be the basis of a film. I thought that maybe someone could talk about some of the cases I faced but I really didn’t expect a film about my history as a lawyer.”
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