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 Director
: Gregory Hoblit
Starring
: Richard Gere, Edward Norton, Laura Linney, John Mahoney,
Alfre Woodward, Frances Mcdormand
Picture : 2.35:1, DD 5.1, Single-Side
Dual-Layer, Keep Case
Running
Time : 130 mins
The
story:
Sooner or later a man that wears two faces forgets which
one is real!
The
question of guilt or innocence has never really been an
issue for high profile Chicago lawyer Martin Vail (Richard
Gere). His job is to defend his clients, at any cost and
especially if he can gain the right amount of publicity.
When Vail hears that an important archbishop has been brutally
murdered he rushes to the aid of penniless altar boy, Aaron
Stampler (Edward Norton), who is accused of the killing.
Adamant that the boy is the victim of a horrible conspiracy,
Vail must use everything in his legal arsenal to prove his
innocence, whilst furthering his own public image at the
same time. Through extensive reasearch and investigation
the case is taken to trial and the sadistic nature of the
killing fully unfolds. Vail is determined that his client
is innocent and will stop and nothing to prove it, even
when the cracks in that belief start to show through and
he is forced to see the disturbing truth.
The
summary:
Despite its somewhat luke warm reception at the box office
this film is one of the most underrated thrillers of recent
years, for two reasons. First of all the screenplay , adapted
from the book by William Diehl is inspired and contains
one of the cleverest endings I have seen (as good or if
not better than the Sixth sense). Secondly the film introduced
the world to the acting talents of Edward Norton, who for
me IS this film. Richard Gere offers us one of his better
portrayals of the publicity hungry, stop-at-nothing lawyer,
but it is Norton, with his brilliantly flawed portrayal
of the demure altar boy that steals the show. In fact by
the end of the film you get the feeling that Richard Gere
could have benefitted from picking up a few tips from Norton.
The other players in the film are more or less forgotten
by the end, but do offer a good backdrop into the world
that we are shown surrounding a lawyer and his client. The
only downside to the film is the stunted chemistry evident
between Gere and his supposed, former girlfriend who is
the lead prosecutor in the murder trial.
On
the DVD front this is well presented and excellently transfered
to the format. The soundtrack is adequate but then you wouldnt
expect too much from a film that spends a lot of its time
set in a court room or a jail cell. The one thing that lets
the package down is the extra's. How can this superbly crafted
thriller be let down so appallingly by just including a
trailer - Where is the commentary ? or the documentary ?
- An absolute travesty. On the whole though, the film more
than makes up for the lack of extra's.
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