This is a tepid project; poorly executed in any dimension. But we forgive it.
The reason is simple: the villain is a lawyer. There may be a lawyer somewhere with a justified life, but its got to be a rare as walking bathtubs. This movie fits into a comfortable story, about justice and defilers of justice. There's a background about a murder victim with aids, but its purely background. The juice here is all about the system, how its rigged; how the legal system and justice are relatively independent.
We do hate this lawyer. Its a simple project.
But there is something interesting here. The aberration of humanity that is the lawyer is played by Michael McKean, a prolific writer and performer, the weird talent behind Spinal Tap. The whole thing revolves around how well he portrays the central character. He's actually pretty competent: someone who thinks he is in the right. Its really quite balanced, what he does. And repellent in that balance.
He gets murderers and other evil folks off by using tricks. He is kidnapped by an aggrieved woman. That woman is tried and gets off by using similar tricks but this time more noble. But if there's a lesson here, its lost in turgid writing.
Annette O'Toole plays the woman. She's not a good actress. She has the body, face and hair of Julianne Moore and the mouth of Rene Zellweiger, none of it used as they would.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life
The reason is simple: the villain is a lawyer. There may be a lawyer somewhere with a justified life, but its got to be a rare as walking bathtubs. This movie fits into a comfortable story, about justice and defilers of justice. There's a background about a murder victim with aids, but its purely background. The juice here is all about the system, how its rigged; how the legal system and justice are relatively independent.
We do hate this lawyer. Its a simple project.
But there is something interesting here. The aberration of humanity that is the lawyer is played by Michael McKean, a prolific writer and performer, the weird talent behind Spinal Tap. The whole thing revolves around how well he portrays the central character. He's actually pretty competent: someone who thinks he is in the right. Its really quite balanced, what he does. And repellent in that balance.
He gets murderers and other evil folks off by using tricks. He is kidnapped by an aggrieved woman. That woman is tried and gets off by using similar tricks but this time more noble. But if there's a lesson here, its lost in turgid writing.
Annette O'Toole plays the woman. She's not a good actress. She has the body, face and hair of Julianne Moore and the mouth of Rene Zellweiger, none of it used as they would.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life