Primal Fear

If you want to see excellent acting in the service of an involving well told story this is a good place to start. Across the board there is not one weak performance. Gere has one of his very best roles as a fame loving attorney who chases a headline case that is more than he bargained for. He and the Laura Linney spar and parry both in and out of court with wonderful brio, she is his equal even if he is loath to admit it and the actress's personal strong persona fits the role perfectly. In a star making performance Edward Norton grabs his part by the throat and runs with it, a brilliant job and one that marked him as a true talent to watch. Each secondary roles is filled with top drawer character actors-Frances McDormand as an understanding therapist, Maura Tierney and Andre Braugher as Gere's assistants and on and on all deliver quality work. Alfre Woodard deserves special mention as the no nonsense slightly cantankerous judge who tipples a little on the side. She takes what could have been a throwaway part and makes her both memorable and humorous. A little overlong you won't notice so good is the acting and once it gets going the story keeps the interest level high.

I was convinced that "Primal Fear" would be the type of courtroom drama that Hollywood seems to use to pave the streets with. You know what I mean: Someone gets wrongly accused of some mischief, he can't pay a lawyer, but of course there is one who is really interested in the case and he is prepared to defend the poor guy anyway. The defender finds some wholes in the police investigation or in the statement of the other party and knows to prove the innocence of his client and even get a big indemnity. Well, I was wrong, for once this was a courtroom drama that had a bit more to offer than the usual story line and twists. In fact, this was even a very enjoyable movie.

Even though I'm not really a fan of Richard Gere (I'm not a woman, so no I don't like him because the way he looks, I only look at his acting), I have to admit that this time he really did a very good job as the slick, media-friendly, arrogant lawyer Martin Vail. Still, in my opinion the real star in this movie is Edward Norton. He's really excellent as the altar boy who is accused of murdering a Catholic bishop.

For once the story isn't as predictable as usual. At first the case seems rather clear: an altar boy is running away from the home of the bishop, with blood all over his clothes. No doubt about it you think, he did it, case closed, next movie! But than the first interesting twist in the movie appears: Yes, he was at the murder scene, but he can't remember anything about the grisly murder, because at that exact moment he got a blackout. He's convinced that there was a third person in the room. That third person must have killed the bishop, he's innocent. His lawyer tries to prove the third man theory in the court room, but as the process comes nearer to the end, some new evidence will make everything a lot clearer and more interesting...

As I already said, this movie is more than just worth a watch, thanks to the rather innovative story line and characters. For once, this movie didn't annoy me more than I could ever like it. That's already worth a lot, so I give it a well deserved 8/10.

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.

this is one of the best murder mystery,psychological suspense films i have ever seen.this thing will keep you riveted and guessing right down to the end.this movie belongs to Edward Norton,who plays an alter boy accused of murdering a priest.this is an early film with Norton,in fact his first feature(big screen)film.his talent is undeniable even back then(1996).there a lot of layers to this movie and a lot going on.there are also a lot of plot twists and some red herrings(false clues)to help lead you to the wrong conclusions.Richard Gere is also in the film and he does good in his role,as does Laura Linney in her role.but like i said,this is an Edward Norton film.the success of the movie hinges on his performance.he delivers in a big way,so the film succeeds.i don't think you can go wrong with this film.i urge you to check it out.for me "Primal Fear" is a 9/10

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.