ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. Trailer Premiere Don’t miss the first ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. trailer! The film, written and directed by Dan Gilroy (Nightcrawler), stars Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, and Carmen Ejogo. ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. will be released in theaters on November 3. ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ. is a dramatic thriller set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Denzel Washington stars as Roman Israel, a driven, idealistic defense attorney who, through a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action. Colin Farrell costars as the monied, cutthroat lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm.