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From:Richard Gere , Laura Linney , Edward Norton , John Mahoney , Frances McDormand , GERE,RICHARD , Gregory Hoblit , Paramount ,
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User Rating: Amazon Sales Rank:#3493 |
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4 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
 Face Your Fear..., 2006-04-06
Courtroom dramas generally translate into big box office numbers for their respective studios and all other parties involved. Many of the recent string of successful courtroom dramas have been adaptations of novelist John Grisham's masterful literary works, such as; "A Time to Kill", "The Client", "The Firm", and most recently "The Runaway Jury", however other courtroom dramas have appeared on the scene that haven't been created by Grisham's books "A Few Good Men" and "Rules of Engagement" are two excellent examples that come to mind. Another wonderful example of cinematic brilliance would be the 1996 legal thriller starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and newcomer Edward Norton, "Primal Fear".
"Primal Fear" focuses on high-powered Chicago attorney, Martin Vail (Richard Gere), who happens to be one of the city's best defense attorneys, and also one of the most despised. After settling a fairly big case, Vail searching for his next gold mine of a case, catches wind of a recent murder of an Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Chicago. With an altar boy (Edward Norton) as the only suspect of this high profile, mega media attention grabbing case, Vail is quick to offer his services to the young boy in hopes of cashing in on the spotlight this case grants him. However, what seemed to be a rather cut-and-dry case has revealed itself to be a vast web of betrayal, corruption, and wickedness that has ties all the way from the bottom-feeders of the city to the upper echelon of the rich and powerful. To make matters worse the prosecutor for the case just so happens to be a scorned lover of Vail's (Laura Linney), who is every bit his equal in the court, and to win the case, Vail will have to summon all his expertise and even then it may not be enough.
Director Gregory Hoblit has carefully and skillfully crafted a magnificent legal thriller with enough twists and turns to leave you guessing who the real victim is in the entire ordeal. Most legal thrillers are engaging enough based on the trial that serves as the focal point for the film, however this movie chose to provide a very interesting and engaging trial along with a side story in the character of Martin Vail and his journey from glory hound lawyer to someone trying to save a life of a client he truly believes to be innocent for a change. The entire cast is rock solid, especially Richard Gere and Edward Norton, Gere, who to me has seemed a little too prissy in recent roles ("Pretty Woman" and "Runaway Bride"), does an excellent job of portraying the despicable nature of this slimy lawyer, Martin Vail. Edward Norton is equally powerful and mesmerizing in his portrayal of the altar boy/murder suspect, who is more than he appears to be at first glance, his acting is truly impressive for a newcomer. The supporting cast is just as strong as the two leads; Laura Linney being strongest of the supporting characters, and her interactions with Gere are truly fun to watch.
All in all I can't really think of anything about "Primal Fear" that is negative, except for it would have been nicer for the subplot involving Martin's previous case to have been detailed a little more, but that's essentially immaterial as what was given via exposition was enough to make sense of the situation. Really all I can say is that if you are a fan of legal thrillers then this is definitely one you should not miss, and when you watch it you must pay attention at all times because almost every scene contains some element that is integral to the overall story that is unfolding.
"Primal Fear" is rated R for violence, language, and brief nudity/sexuality.
2 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
 Law and the Demonic Altar Boy, 2005-11-16
The life of an altar boy is not an easy one. Worse, when the altar boy has been sexually abused, the anger embedded is deep and dark. Years later when the boy has grown to adulthood and can retaliate against the abuser, the black fury of the past results in a gruesome, violent murder. Thus the premise of Primal Fear is realized in the film of the same name. Richard Gere plays Martin Vail an attorney with superb legal abilities and an inflated ego. However, the motivating power of the movie emanates primarily from the demon plagued Aaron Stampler, superbly played by new comer Edward Norton. The heinous murder of an archbishop sets the stage for a media swamped sensational trial in which the prosecutor seeks the death penalty and the defense tries to explain how two distinct personalities exist within the torturous soul of the young man accused of the crime. Still, a very subtle and unsuspecting nuance snakes itself into the story line, like a threatening viper and if not detected will strike your soul as does the film's conclusion. Great movie and superior acting makes for a worthwhile reason to watch this film. ***
3 of 11 customers found the following review helpful:
 Faux-Noir Falls Flat, 2005-10-16
Let me get directly to the point right off the bat: there are vast amounts of films out there about crimes, suspects, trials, and lawyers, so needless to say, a film in this category must be quite exceptional in order to achieve any kind of memorable status whatsoever. Unfortuneatly, "Primal Fear" does nothing interesting or original, causing it to fall in that static area of low-grade mediocrity.
The story follows Martin Vail (Gere), an accomplished Chicago lawyer who, in order to gain greater fame, takes the case of a troubled young altar boy (Norton) who allegedly murdered and mutilated a charitable Archbishop (Anderson).
Any film like this has a certain amount of inherent potential, but "Primal Fear" just does nothing inventive or intriguing the actors, plot, or visuals. Edward Norton, in one of his early roles, delivers a clichéd performance as the textbook stuttering, innocent down-home country boy with a dark side that we've seen so many times before. Richard Gere is his usual creepy self, and Laura Linney produces a flat performance with zero enthusiasm as a lawyer and former flame of Richard Gere's character, but really, who can blame her?
The film then serves up the standard "plot twists", courtroom drama scenes, and moments of unoriginal sexual tension between the two lawyers with a past. It also throws in a few severely underdeveloped characters that just go nowhere and leave you wondering what their purpose was. You can tell director Gregory Hoblit is going for a noir feel here, but it just falls flat with its uninspired characters, uninteresting visuals, and forced dialogue.
The film's only redeeming qualities are a good performance from John Mahoney, a fine jazzy score by James Newton Howard, and the viscerally effective murder scene, which I won't reveal the details of in this review.
So it goes without saying that "Primal Fear" is by no means a film that elevates itself above all of the others in this genre, in fact, it may very well be below average for this type of film, and there have been some pretty big stinkers, trust me.
4/10
1 of 4 customers found the following review helpful:
 Spoiler - don't read if you want to be surprised..., 2005-10-16
I'm surprised there hasn't been a review to suggest what I think is the REAL mental condition of Edward Norton's character. Its called antisocial personality disorder, well known for a lack of remorse or regret on the part of a perpetrator of a crime (i.e. Scott Peterson, Ted Bundy, etc.). Responsible for the crime? Yes. But I'm still surprised the possibility of this diagnosis has not been brought up (since multiple personality disorder was brought up in the movie). I gave the movie four stars because I think the movie industry has a fantastic duty to go beyond just the making of a movie for financial gain, and use their influence to educate. There are many movies that have "special features" devoted to educating the public about issues. I think this could have been one of those movies.
4 of 5 customers found the following review helpful:
Terrific movie, 2005-06-19
This movie fearures a fast-paced storyline with a jaw-dropping ending, as well as spectacular performances by Gere and Norton. After watching this movie, you understand how Edward Norton did such a great job kicking 'his' own a** in 'Fight Club'....
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