The murder of a high and mighty archbishop leads to the involvement of Martin Vail, Chicago's best attorney. As he studies the suspects, he becomes convinced of certain aspects, but there's ... Read allThe murder of a high and mighty archbishop leads to the involvement of Martin Vail, Chicago's best attorney. As he studies the suspects, he becomes convinced of certain aspects, but there's more to the story than meets the eye.The murder of a high and mighty archbishop leads to the involvement of Martin Vail, Chicago's best attorney. As he studies the suspects, he becomes convinced of certain aspects, but there's more to the story than meets the eye.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 10 wins & 12 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is Edward Norton's motion picture debut.
- Goofs(at around 1h 19 mins) It is stated by several characters that a plea cannot be changed mid trial. However, it is entirely possible to change a plea before sentencing.
- Quotes
[last lines SPOILER]
[while in a holding cell in the back of the courthouse]
Roy: Mr. Vail?
Martin Vail: Yeah?
Roy: [stammering] Will you t-tell Miss Venable I'm sorry? Tell her I hope her neck is okay.
Martin Vail: Yeah... I will.
[begins walking away, then turns back]
Martin Vail: Wait... What did you just say? What? You told me just a few minutes ago that you didn't remember. You blacked out. You "lost time" yet again. So, how do you know about her neck?
Roy: [slow clapping sardonically; sneers] Well... good for you, Marty. I was going to let it go at that. You was looking so happy just now. I was thinking, hmmm God. But to tell you the truth, I'm glad you figured it out, because I have been dying to tell you. I just didn't know who you'd wanna hear it from, you know? Aaron or Roy... or Roy or Aaron. Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. A sort of a client-attorney-privilege type of a secret, you know what I mean? It don't matter who you hear it from. It's the same story.
[stammering as Aaron]
Roy: [in a southern accent] I j-j-just... had to kill Linda, Mr. Vail.
[normal voice as Roy]
Roy: That cunt just got what she deserved. But... cutting up that son of a bitch Rushman? That was just a fucking work of art.
Martin Vail: You're good. You are really good.
Roy: Yeah. I did get caught, though, didn't I?
Martin Vail: So there never... there never was a Roy?
Roy: Jesus Christ, Marty. If that's what you think, I am disappointed in you, I don't mind telling you. There never was an Aaron... counselor! Come on, Marty! I thought you had it figured, there at the end. The way you put me on the stand like that? That was fucking brilliant, Marty! And that whole thing like "act-like-a-man"? Jesus, I knew exactly what you wanted from me. It was like we were dancing, Marty!
Martin Vail: Guard!
Roy: [as Vail walks away] Oh come on, don't be like that, Marty. We did it, man. We fucking did it! We're a great team, you and me. You think I could've done this without you? You're just feeling a little angry here, because you started to care about old Aaron, I can understand that, but... you know, love hurts, Marty. What can I say? Hey, I'm just kidding, bud! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! What else was I supposed to do? Hey, you're gonna thank me down the road, because this is gonna toughen you right up, Martin Vail! You hear me? That's a promise!
- SoundtracksIntroitus: Cibavit Eos
by William Byrd
Performed by The Voices of Christ Church Cathedral Choir
Conducted by Stephen Darlington
Courtesy of Nimbus Records
But as to Gere he plays Martin Vail, a top criminal defense attorney who will let everyone know it if they haven't figured it out. It's a tricky part because a guy this arrogant has to maintain some kind of surface likability or else you'd never believe he'd ever win a case in front of a jury. As for movie viewers they must have a rooting interest for him as well. But Gere's definitely a guy who they make lawyer jokes about.
A young altar boy has murdered the archbishop of Chicago, a mush mouth kid with a Kentucky twang played by Edward Norton. He's part of a choir of street kids that the Chicago archdiocese shows off on many an occasion. It was a particularly brutal murder, multiple stabbings and the carving of a cryptic message in the chest of the deceased.
Gere makes no bones about it, he's wanting this case because of the headlines it will bring him. But when F. Lee Bailey or Johnnie Cochran offers to defend you for nothing, you don't ask questions.
Which brings us to Norton who has you might have gathered is not all he seems. He's a street kid and he's used to getting over on people himself. It's one of the darkest characters ever done on screen, maybe a bit too dark for Academy tastes. That might have been the reason that Cuba Gooding beat out Norton for Best Supporting Actor with his much lighter role in Jerry Maguire.
One in this film you will notice are Laura Linney as the Assistant District Attorney who Gere was once involved with and is getting a lot of pressure to bring in a guilty verdict for understandable political reasons. I also liked Alfre Woodard as the very patient judge at Norton's trial and Frances McDormand as the psychiatrist who examines Norton.
If you think you've figured out what's behind Primal Fear, rest assured you haven't from this description. Let's just say everyone gets good and played here.
Which brings to mind the dedication for this review. Gere's attorney character is likable, but arrogant. Back in the day I knew an attorney who was arrogant without any real reason for the arrogance. He'd love to have been Richard Gere, I'm sure he saw himself that way. So to you Ron D'Angelo this review is dedicated to.
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- Sep 26, 2008
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Everything New on Paramount+ in December
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $56,116,183
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,871,222
- Apr 7, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $102,616,183
- Runtime2 hours 9 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1