PRIMAL FEAR
Primal Gere
A film review by John Paul Powell
Copyright 1996 John Paul Powell
Originally published in the Outreach Connection Newspaper (April 4, 1996)
Starring: Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre
Woodard and Edward Norton.
Screenplay by: Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman.
Based On The Novel by: William Diehl.
Directed by: Gregory Hoblit.
Produced by: Gary Lucchesi.
A Paramount Pictures release.
The more I think about it, old Billy was right. Let's kill all the lawyers. Kill 'em tonight. - Get Over It (The Eagles)
I confess. I throw myself on the mercy of the court. Yes, it's true. I was one of the bazillion people glued to the Simpson trial. Scantily clad women lathered in oil could parade through my living room tossing hundred dollar bills in the air and I wouldn't have blinked.
Ok. You got me. I would have. But only to snatch up the dough as my wife would sock me into next Thursday if I gaped at the gals. (She has a mean right hook, yah know!)
Of the droning testimony, the bombastic grandstanding and the farcical courtroom antics, what sticks in my mind is a distraught Christopher Darden breaking down at the prosecution's post-verdict press conference. His throat seizing and choking off the words. Darden weeping openly, whispering an apology to the victim's families and stumbling away a broken man.
Christopher Darden thought his cause was just and true. He was championing good. He was defending the victims. Good wins out over evil...doesn't it? In comic books, movies and novels maybe, but not in real life. Killers go free. Children die. Dictators hold power. Innocent people suffer. Crimes go unpunished.
At times, evil does triumph and when corrupted souls prevail, raising their hands in victory isn't enough. They smirk from ear to ear. They spit in your face. They rub your nose in it. That's the nature of the beast.
Darden swallowed the bitter pill that we carbon-based humanoids can't and won't accept: the undisputable fact that life isn't fair. Don't look for any Christopher Dardens in Primal Fear. The opposing lawyers (Richard Gere and Laura Linney) concern themselves more with humiliating their counterparts, petting their egos and padding their bank accounts than seeking the truth.
Ignore the Hollywood actors and you have yourself a documentary crucifying the legal profession.
Defence attorney Martin Vail (Gere) is a bleached Johnnie Cochrane. You can mow down a kindergarten class in broad daylight. Not a problem. Vail has no qualms about defending you. As long as you don't admit responsibility and the case promises to put his mug on the evening news; he'll take you on in a heartbeat. Don't have two dimes to rub together? Relax. If it's a high-profile case, Vail will bill the State.
That Martin Vail. He's a heck of a guy.
What distinguishes Vail from the likes of Cochrane is that Vail is man enough to acknowledge that he's in it for the fame. Which is what causes him to quickly lay claim to the Butcher Boy Of Saint Mike's case.
Aaron (Edward Norton), a transplanted hayseed is charged with the murder of an Arch Bishop. (Which chimes in at about 10 million Hail Mary's. Give or take a few hundred.) Arch Bishop Rushman's body was found carved like a Christmas turkey, a mysterious message carved in his chest. Aaron was seen fleeing the scene. Johnny Appleseed insists that it wasn't he who mistook Rushman for a holiday bird but distinctly saw a shadowy figure (That shadowy figure again? Does he get around or what?) standing over the body. If Aaron is convicted it's say goodnight Gracie.
Prosecuting Appleseed is Janet Venable (Linney), Vail's former six month one night stand. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Vail is in for the fight of his life.
The true test of any courtroom drama is whether or not it sedates the audience when the trial takes centre stage. Primal Fear shrewdly side-steps this impasse by fast forwarding the proceedings. The pacing meets with applause. It's the casting that begs for a raspberry.
Martin Vail is as unscrupulous as they come. He doesn't bend the rules. He ties them in friggin' knots. Vail steals evidence from the crime scene. He defends gangland bosses. He threatens uncooperative witnesses. Richard Gere is not suited for this role. His appeal detracts heavily from Vail's unethical actions. The violations don't seem as grievous because they are committed by the charming Richard Gere.
Primal Fear is Lens Man Gregory Hoblit's feature film debut. Hoblit has won bushels of Emmys for directing and writing duties on such hit programs as Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law and NYPD Blue. (He also contributed to Steven Bochco's Cop Rock but I won't hold that against him.) Hoblit's extensive television background is as transparent as transparent can be. The means by which Hoblit jumps from scene to scene and the film's overall look mirrors television's uninspiring "point and shoot" rational.
Withdraw Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman's gripping screenplay and you could cite Hoblit for impersonating a director.
Primal Fear is rated C for Crafty.
Edward Norton - Hoblit's aerial shots x Frasier's Dad (John Mahoney) swearing up a storm - Richard Gere as Vail x Venable breaking communist anti-smoking laws + one naughty video tape x Gere for saying to Norton: "Now for the important stuff. What's your suit size?" - Hoblit's Boob Tube style x shish kebabed fingers - perturbing Male/Female posturing + two wild foot chases x a bold conclusion - a wasted Alfre Woodard = lawyers take it in the shorts.
Outreach Rating: 7 shysters / 10
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews