Twelve crime movies where justice actually prevails

It’s an incredible week. Progressive democratic candidates SWEPT the elections. In the biggest congressional win of the last five decades, we flipped a bunch of red states, and elected smart, community-and-inclusion-minded leaders who prioritize healthcare, the environment, minority rights, and livable conditions. Abdul El-Sayed! Jon Ossoff! James Talarico! Gina Hinojosa! Annie Andrews! Melat Kiros! Amy Acton! Keisha Lance Bottoms of Georgia became the first Black woman governor in the whole country!!! It’s an incredible moment in American history, a true victory over the narcissistic, bigoted, murderous regime in power currently.

It’s been a great week, so let’s keep the party going. If you’re looking for something that will get you fired up for justice, this weekend, may I recommend one of the following twelve classic movies.

These are political/legal/journalism movies about moments that Truth and Goodness and Fairness prevail. And you know what? Many of them are based on a true story!

This is not a comprehensive list, just the movies I thought of in my post-election euphoria. Happy watching… and power to the people!

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

Frank Capra’s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is about RAMPANT GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION so yes it’s a crime movie, and yes it’s very topical. Next slide, please.

All the President’s Men (1976)

Ah yes, the classic story about how two Washington Post reporters exposed the Watergate scandal and brought down Richard Nixon. O, for a president with Richard Nixon’s sense of decency. And that’s saying something.

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

Every single person in Congress should watch this movie, this weekend.

The Accused (1988)

Ditto this one.

12 Angry Men (1957)

The whole point of America is for everyone—ANYONE—to have a fair trial.

Michael Clayton (2007)

Sure, the truth can be adjusted… but it will also eventually come out!

Women Talking (2022)

Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Miriam Toews’s somber, charged novel about women in a Mennonite community who collectively gather in the hayloft of a farm to address the systemic sexual abuse perpetrated upon them by the men of the colony (and to vote on what they should do about it), is riveting. It is a true ensemble film and feels often like a play—a brave and compelling story about women who decide not to accept what they are told they must.

One Battle After Another (2005)

The fight is worth it!!!!! Fight for the future!!!!!

How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023)

If you haven’t, you should really watch this engrossing heist-ish thriller adaptation of Andreas Malm’s groundbreaking nonfiction book. Malm’s book argues that that peaceful protests have proven themselves ineffective in stopping the widespread annihilation of the earth and its inhabitants by climate change, and the only thing that can make any real change is property damage. The film follows a group of young people (mostly early 2os but a couple people around 30) as they band together with a specific mission: destroying a new oil pipeline that has been built in Texas. They all have different reasons for coming to this decision, but their effort will be both a symbol of resistance and a real, practical hindrance to the environmental ravaging posed by the pipeline.

She Said (2022)

This is a good movie, that constructively, caringly reenacts Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey’s investigation into the crimes of Harvey Weinstein.

The Post (2017)

Remember when The Washington Post published the Pentagon Papers? A great moment for justice, a great moment for truth in America.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

The TRUE story of the legal researcher who made a corporation pay for its toxic environmental destruction and public health dangers.