ironhorse_iv Review of Murder in the First

Murder in the First (1995)

I knew this movie was too good to be true. Still, it was a good movie.

[7/10 · 14 November 2013]

Murder in the First is a really good movie, but it presents a film a very fictitious story based on a real life event. This movie takes great liberties to tell an entertaining story here about man's inhumanity against his fellow man, so it's seem unfair to criticize the film for not being 100% true to real events here. Still, I couldn't get pass the fact, that they made Henri Young (Kevin Bacon) into a victim of the prison system. This film seem to follow the same clichés almost all prison films in the 1990's had. Put stereotypically innocent prisoners and stereotypically abusive, brutal, and sadistic guards together, and then expect the audience to see that it is in fact the system and society that are truly to blame. I have to say, this was kinda bothersome. Thank Goodness for 1999's Green Mile for a good two sided film. I do like prison reform message movies, but the whole victimize of Henri Young makes the real life murderer Henri Young look like a good innocent guy. In the film directed by Marc Rocco, Henri Young went to Alcatraz Prison, because as a 17-year-old orphan, Henri stole $5 from a grocery store to feed himself and his little sister. In Alcatraz, he tries to escape, but the plan fail due to the betrayal of Rufus McCain (David Michael Sterling). After being punished to a holding cell solitary confinement for three years which looks more like a dungeon and being mistreated by associate warden Milton Glenn (Gary Oldman). Gary Oldman is just brilliant in this role. Oldman has a tendency to go over the top, but here he is more restrained and his work is better because of it, he has a calm chilling delivery. Because of Milton, and the dungeon, Henri lose his sanity, and kills McCain in the cafeteria on his first day back in general population. Now, Henri is put on trial for first degree murder in what prosecutors and the public-defender's office believe is an open-and-shut case. Public defender James Stamphill (Christian Slater), doesn't think so, and attempts to put Alcatraz on trial by alleging that its harsh conditions caused his client to commit murder. I have to say, this is Christian Slater's best role yet. He was very believer as a lawyer, and he should do more films like this. Still, I can do without the subplots involving Slater's relationship with his older brother. Kevin Bacon gives one great performance as Henri. He lost twenty pounds for the role, and pretty nail, his version of Henri Young. You can really see the negative effects of abuse that Henri took, with Kevin's body language. The way, he avoid eye connection, cowards himself in a corner, and speak in a near mute silence voice is powerful. The real life Henri wasn't like this at all. The real Henri Young was not convicted of stealing $5 to save his sister from destitution. He had been a hardened bank robber who had taken a hostage on at least one occasion and had committed a murder in 1933. Young was also no stranger to the penal system. Before being incarcerated at Alcatraz in 1936, he had already served time in two state prisons in Montana and Washington. Young wasn't kept in any dungeons for years in Alcatraz, as they were closed almost a decade earlier when the film take place. He was only segregation for a few months, before coming back into general population. So It's hard to root for a fictional Henri Young when in real life, he was pretty vile and there isn't much prove that he was victimize. I'm not saying, he wasn't, but it's hard to believe that Young didn't meant to kill McCain. Even if being mistreated by the system, I think he really did want to murder McCain. After all, he was a brutal kidnapper who enjoyed terrorizing his victims. The movie even said he die in prison, when he didn't. In 1972 after Young was released from Washington State Penitentiary, he jumped parole. According to authorities his whereabouts remain unknown as of this writing. Many of the film ideas were taken directly from newspaper articles of the highly politicized contentious trial, so it's hard to know if it's true or not. One thing, true about the film is while filming courtroom scenes, the location was hit by the 1994 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake. So it's would be interesting to see that delete footage if ever shown. The tagline tells us this is the story of the trial that closed down Alcatraz. Henry's case wasn't one of the reasons that Alcatraz closed if people were wondering. The true reason why Alcatraz closed because it was too expensive to operate, pure and simple. I would recommend this movie to courtroom drama fans. The visual effects, score, and acting is just amazing. It's an entertaining well-made film, like 1962's Birdman of Alcatraz, but it's just Hollywood prison romanticization fantasy. Nothing more. Very little truth in these types of films. Still, worth checking out.