Primal Fear (1996)

Last month I started a segment on this blog called Sheldon's Choice which was a list comprised by a fellow film Connoisseur and our first film was Internal Affairs and now we are back with our second film. The film that I chose for today is one that kept seeing in parts whether it be having the ending spoiled for me or only seeing the beginning. The film I am talking about is 1996's Primal Fear which stars Richard Gere (Internal Affairs) as hot shot defense attorney Martin Vail who may have bitten off more than he could chew when he chooses a high profile case. You see a former altar boy is accused of murdering a Priest, but the truth is going to take a lot of digging to get to. The film also stars Edward Norton (American History X) as Aaron, Laura Linney (Mystic River) as Janet Venable, John Mahoney (Say Anything...) as Shaughnessy, Alfre Woodard (Star Trek: First Contact) as Shoat,  Frances McDormand (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) as Molly, Terry O'Quinn (Young Guns) as Yancy, Andre Braugher (Frequency) as Goodman, Steven Bauer (Scarface) as Pinero, Tony Plana (One Eight Seven) as Martinez, Stanley Anderson (Armageddon) as Rushman, Maura Tierney (ER) as Naomi, Jon Seda (Chicago P.D.) as Alex, and the film was directed by Gregory Hoblit (Hill Street Blues).

If you never have seen this film before then you need to mark this one and put it on your list because it was excellent. The film not only features a masterful performance once again by Richard Gere, but it features a masterful performance from Edward Norton who at this time was proving to be a top notch talent in Hollywood. Richard Gere was masterful in playing the cocky big time lawyer who takes no for an answer, but is a master manipulator when it comes to the courtroom. Edward Norton is the true master in this film because he has all of us believing that he's this innocent, dumb witted, stuttering altar boy who couldn't possibly commit these murders, but his other personality certainly can and that is how he fools absolutely everyone. I loved the cinematography of the film even though they were showing the rougher parts of Chicago, there were still some great shots. The story is solid and the courtroom battles are worth watching. The only thing I wish they could have elaborated on more of was the character of Alex who was the second person on the tape as well as maybe addressing the girl, but I also get why they left it out. Time restraints can be a filmmakers worst nightmare, but then again I never read the book so I don't know if it's addressed there. As I said before, this is one film that you want to put on your list because Linney delivers a great performance in the film as the prosecuting attorney who just wants to light her damn cigarette. So with that being said, I am going to give the film an A for a final grade.

One Eight Seven (1997)

Back in the late 1980's there was this movement of making films that focused on teachers or principals who were thrown into very stressful situations and how they overcame it to be the heroes of the day (e.g. Stand and Deliver & Lean On). Well, that was the 1980's because in the 1990's it was all about the teacher actually fighting back against the thugs instead of trying to change them as seen in today's film One Eight Seven (& The Substitute). The film stars Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers) as Professor Trevor Garfield, a teacher who survived being stabbed nine times by a student in Brooklyn. Now we fast forward 15 months later moves to Los Angeles where he is now a substitute teacher. The only problem is that he runs himself into the same situation as he did in New York, but this time he decides to fight back. The film also stars the late John Heard (Home Alone) as Dave Childress, Kelly Rowan (Candyman: Farewell To The Flesh) as Ellen, Clifton Collins Jr. (The Last Castle) as Cesar Sanchez, Tony Plana (¡Three Amigos!) as Principle Garcia, Karina Arroyave (Lean On Me) as Rita, Lobo Sebastian (Next Friday), Jonah Rooney (ER) as Steve Littleton, and the film was directed by Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood).

One of the things I liked most about the film were the various tones used in the film. In the beginning when we are setting up the picture for the rest of the film, the flashback is very blue with lots of grays almost indicting a cold and dark memory. The rest of the film is very bright almost as if there is this conflict that just keeps building like tension that isn't going away. I love it when filmmakers employ those kinds of tactics because it definitely helps set up the mood. This is a very 90's styled film with the way the music comes in as if it's more than just a song for a soundtrack, but more of an aesthetic like it's part of the scene. The other 90's aesthetic is just the overall look of the film which is just chaotic in my opinion and it works in my opinion like it's not clean cut. Now as far as the acting is concerned, Samuel L. Jackson hits it right out of the park, but his perfect companion in this film for sure was Clifton Collins Jr. who absolutely stole the show. You kept wondering throughout the whole film why is Jackson's character not laying into this kid? I honestly thought that Lobo's character was going to be the main villain in the film, but it's always the next guy in line that is even worse. The funny thing is the last scene you see that Collins's character was the only one who felt macho and had to be down with the gang life as every one else just liked acting tough. One thing is for sure, I am a huge fan of John Heard and I appreciate everything that he had done, but this was an OK role for him. I loved the way he was for most of the film, but when he got over the top during the drunk scenes I was like you lost me. It's a gritty in your face kind of film that just reeks of 1990's subject matter as education was a huge topic in those days. I am going to give the film an B for a final grade.