Cynthia Erivo Takes the Stand in the First Prima Facie Trailer
Cynthia Erivo Takes the Stand in the First Prima Facie Trailer
Cynthia Erivo is stepping into the courtroom in the newly released trailer for Prima Facie, a screen adaptation of Suzie Miller's acclaimed stage play directed by Susanna White.
The trailer arrives just over a week after the film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where I had the opportunity to see Erivo take on one of the most demanding roles of her screen career.
Erivo stars as Tessa Ensler, an ambitious London barrister who has built her reputation in part by defending men accused of sexual assault. Brilliant in the courtroom and deeply confident in the legal system she serves, Tessa's understanding of justice changes after she is sexually assaulted by a colleague and suddenly finds herself confronting that same system from the other side.
The new trailer establishes that reversal quickly. We see a woman who understands the rules, knows how cases are won and lost, and believes in the law—until her experience forces her to question whether those rules adequately serve survivors.
That tension is at the heart of Prima Facie. Miller adapted the screenplay from her one-woman stage play, which became an international theatrical success and earned Jodie Comer a Tony Award for her performance as Tessa. Translating material closely tied to a singular stage performance was always going to be challenging.
The film expands Tessa's world beyond the confines of the stage, surrounding Erivo with a cast that includes Daniel Ings, Toheeb Jimoh, Noma Dumezweni, and Simon Russell Beale.
But this remains Erivo's story. Having seen the film at TIFF, what stayed with me was the weight of what Erivo is being asked to carry. Tessa isn't simply navigating trauma; she's confronting the collapse of an institution she once understood well enough to manipulate successfully on behalf of her clients.
That makes Prima Facie more complicated than a conventional courtroom drama. It asks uncomfortable questions about consent, credibility, and what happens when someone who knows the legal system intimately discovers its limitations firsthand. Erivo has said she hopes the film encourages conversations about sexual violence and consent. With the first official trailer now out, that conversation is moving beyond the festival circuit and toward a much larger audience.
Prima Facie is directed by Susanna White and written for the screen by Suzie Miller.
