Primal Fear

Martin (Richard Gere) is a very successful attorney in the Chicago area. However, his workaholic and limelight-seeking tendencies ruined one relationship with an underling (Laura Linney). Now comes the case of all cases. The archbishop of Chicago has been brutally murdered and the suspect is an innocent looking vagrant named Aaron (Edward Norton). Martin decrees that he MUST represent Aaron so he offers the young man his services pro bono, knowing the publicity for the trial will place them both squarely in the news for weeks and weeks. Yet, there is much evidence against Aaron. Despite his stuttering and guiltless demeanor, is Aaron truly not the killer? And, what is more important, justice or winning a case? This is a great, great movie, in many diverse ways. First, the performances are outstanding, with Gere giving a fine turn as the hotshot lawyer and Norton truly jawdropping as the murder suspect who looks like a choirboy. Linney does a nice turn as the district attorney and the other cast members are very well chosen, too. The Chicago setting shows the place as it is, a mixture of both wealthy and dismally poor neighborhoods. Costumes, especially Gere's lawyer garb, are very nice. Then, too, the script, based on a novel by William Diehl, is first rate and full of twists and turns, with a stunning maneuver at the finale. There are a few brief scenes of graphic violence, as the murder itself comes quite near the film's beginning, so there may be moments when you need to look away from the screen, if you are a bit squeamish. Also, if you are Catholic, there may be some parts of the story that are a bit offensive. But, all in all, if you love Gere or you long for interesting, intelligent thrillers, you should not miss Primal Fear. Why don't you speed off toward the video store and pluck this winner from the shelves tonight?

Riveting courtroom drama, starring Richard Gere, with occasional flashes of action. New to me faces that impressed are Laura Linney and Edward Norton, both of whom give outstanding performances against the ever reliable Gere, a sometimes underated star actor.

Kept me on the edge of my chair throughout. One of the best of the courtroom genre films that I have seen.

A coherent script, well directed and edited, leaving me guessing to the end, with a really neat twist in the final stage. Excellent.

Into big city Chicago political corruption and moral decay comes an ingeniously deceptive sociopath from nearby backwoods Kentucky who we see at the opening as an altar boy singing in an all boy church choir that's performing for the city's elite at a social fundraiser for charity. Like another Gregory Hoblit film (Fracture), you have to accept a certain amount of implausibilities. Like the murder itself, for instance, around which the film evolves. But also like Fracture, this is another (earlier) and surprisingly good take on lawyers and prosecutors (Richard Gere and Lara Linney) and the elusive perfect crime. As well, is the part played by Edward Norton. He's got that backwoods hardscrabble menace down about as well as anyone since those Georgia hillbillies in Deliverance.

It's not often that viewers get a chance to watch a star being born - that a talented unknown actor's performance that is so spectacular it leads to the A-list in one role is rare: Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, Brad Pitt in Thelma & Louise to name a recent few. But Edward Norton's turn as the "defendant/victim" in Primal Fear is one of those "Wow" moments that leaves the audience salivating for his next performance. In this feature debut, Norton outdistances his role, as does Richard Gere, in a resurrection no less impressive than Norton's star-making turn. Heretofore, Gere has specialized in assorted intelligent professional cad roles. Here, he gets a chance to inhabit one that not only wears his dubious character on his sleeve, but wears it, drives it, drinks it... revels in it. Yeah, sure somewhere there's a heart of gold, but like his client, the layers on top serve him better, and the heart of gold is tarnished. Gere is at his peak, comfortably, cheerfully inhabiting the role.

Laura Linney deserves extra credit for often being the ice-queen foil which propels the two male characters' development; her own character is rather one- dimensional, but she herself squeezes as much dazzle as she can from it. Even though everyone else obviously falls for whatever Gere's Vail purrs into their ears, it's merely enough time for Linney's Janet to get a drag on her ubiquitous cigarette; another step in what will (hopefully) someday be film's love affair with her. Wasted, sadly, are fine character actors like John Mahoney, Steven Bauer, Maura Tierney & Andre Braugher who could have lit up the screen had they not been handed scripts with generic character stereotypes.

See it to watch the ascension of Norton and Gere.

Although Richard Gere has one of his juiciest roles in Primal Fear, the best performance by far is that of Edward Norton who got the film's only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a stunning debut picture. It's the kind of debut that any player would like to make and the trick is to keep up a high standard you've already set for yourself. Which Norton to his credit certainly has in his career.

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.