Tag Archives: Courtroom Drama

Twilight of Honor Review

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It’s time for a classic courtroom drama filled with lots of twists and turns. It’s a pretty solid film that is definitely dealing with a hart hitting case. That said, by the end of it there aren’t many likable characters involved with this mystery. At the end of the day, David the lawyer isn’t here to make friends but to see to it that he wins the case. He will be up against one of the toughest prosecutors in the land though so it won’t be easy. One wrong move and it’s curtains for him.

So lets get to the case. Ben is on trial for the murder of a very well respected and liked lawman. This guy seemed to know everybody and on the surface had a spotless record. What’s even worse is that Ben’s own wife Laura is against him and claims that her husband had been abusive for a long time. This murder was not in self defense or for her honor, it was all about him. Everyone believes Ben is guilty and so the trial is a formality but that’s when they rope in David as the lawyer. David didn’t want this case but now that he’s got it, he’s going to fight his hardest to win. Can he find enough straw to pull this case apart or is he absolutely doomed? Only time will tell.

First off, Ben really doesn’t make David’s job any easier. The guy is really obsessed with his wife. Not in a chivalrous way where he wants her to be okay, but in a tier 1 sub way where he just worships her to the point of losing clarity. He doesn’t seem to care how standoffish she is or the fact that she turned him in for cash. He just desperately wants her approval since he never got it before. The poor guy is a completely broken man. Usually in a case like this where your life is at stake, you will be trying your best to stay in the game so that would have been what David expected. No, Ben stays vague and unhelpful until David really pressures him.

Of course Laura’s not a good character either. I just tend to be harsher on Ben because he should have known better. “How you get her is how you lose her”, a variation of that is a classic saying for a reason. Laura was never the very traditional type and loyalty wasn’t her specialty. When you marry someone like that you are really asking for trouble and Ben found that out first hand. Throughout the movie Laura never improves as a character which is intentional. You could call her the soft antagonist of the film.

The main antagonist is Norris of course. The guy didn’t commit any crimes but he is an impressive prosecutor. He knows all of the tricks and is aiming to win. Justice isn’t the end game for this guy, he is trying to garner support for an election someday. So he even has the crying old ladies walk in dramatically during the hearing. Now this is annoying for David of course but at the end of the day in court both sides are going to do their best in order to win. I would say the irony of working in a courtroom setting is that you aren’t playing for justice anymore. Even if you know that your client is guilty, you are obligated to fight your best. So even though Norris had questionable motives, it’s not like I can fault him for going for the win every time.

Unfortunately the film does have a very underwhelming romance subplot that had no point being in the film. We meet Susan who has always liked David even while he was married and so she has been biding his time. Now that David has been widowed, she has her chance and takes it. She is constantly encouraged to do this by her father and all but this just plays out like a rebound no matter how you slice it. I also think it’s always a bit rough to know that this person liked you even while you were married. David really needed to sidestep the whole thing and tell Susan they could stay as friends or something.

Life comes at you fast but in this case it was just too fast. Art made for a fun mentor otherwise though. He was really invested in the case and gave a lot of good advice. It is clear why he was regarded as such a good attorney back in the day. If he was healthier then he probably could have won the whole case right away. Naturally as the case goes on we find out more and more how the victim was not quite as innocent as the reputation would have you believe. Additionally, Laura wasn’t the most trustworthy of witnesses.

At the end the Jury certainly had a lot to think about and the movie really followed the proper steps in how to handle the drama well. The evidence trickles in and my only complaint would be that I wish we could have gotten more screentime for the rebuttals. We basically skip a lot in the climax to get to David’s closing remarks but I wanted to see them going at it more. After all, those were usually the best parts of the film. I also enjoyed the openly corrupt judge who didn’t even bother with trying to appear fair. It was only after things were really over the top that he started to do anything.

The weakest parts of the film are naturally when we are seeing the flashbacks into what happened. None of the characters in those flashbacks are the slightest bit likable after all so you’re just waiting to go back to the present where we can have some real dialogue and action. The flashbacks are probably a good idea for people to keep up with what’s going on but honestly I would have been fine without them. Just let us picture what is happening in our heads like the jury as the two sides explain their account of the events. That would be a more effective way if you ask me although I imagine this may not be a popular sentiment since people probably enjoy seeing the actual events.

Overall, Twilight of Honor is a pretty good movie. It’s a solid reminder to not believe everything you hear at face value. People always have motives even if they aren’t readily apparent and knowing his to discern truth from fiction is a rather big skill. It’s definitely something you really have to work at over time. If you get enough experience in it, then you will be in a safer spot. Best thing to do is always to evaluate people and facts on your own. Second hand sources are just that, second hand. While the characters in the actual case are all annoying and antagonistic, it doesn’t take away from this being a well written film of high quality.

Overall 7/10

Anatomy of a Murder Review

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It’s time for a very long courtroom drama. This one definitely has the length of an epic but it allows the movie to really go in depth on every piece of evidence. The movie is based on a book based on a real case but wit the names and everything switched I figured it should still get the full review and score treatment. It is definitely an intense case all the way and should keep your attention all the way through. It’s dealing with some pretty severe subject matter but actually shows enough restraint not to have any of it on screen so I can really appreciate that.

The film starts with Biegler relaxing. Business has been slow but that’s all about to change. He is asked to represent Laura’s husband Manny in a rather big case. Manny murdered someone but he did it to avenge his wife who had been attacked and Sword Art Online’d by another guy. So Manny’s murder was righteous justice. At least that’s the way he sees it. Biegler has to point out that no matter how awful the other person was, this would still be considered pre mediated murder as it didn’t happen immediately. It’s not self defense or anything as the act had already happened after the guy violated Laura. They could try for temporary insanity but it doesn’t seem like that will hold up. Biegler’s going to really have to fight hard to win this case..but should he win it?

There is a whole lot going on here and so one of the themes is really about just looking ahead and doing your job. It’s the toughest part about being a lawyer to be honest as it means you will sometimes need to defend crooks and people that you know are guilty. You can’t let your personal feelings sway your judgment and have to trust in the jury and the courts system to come up with the right verdict. Manny’s no saint by any stretch of the imagination. For starters he is a domestic abuser who is always hitting Laura and the guy gets insanely jealous. He has a full on violent streak which doesn’t help his case at all. If Biegler is able to get him off, then Laura’s life is about to get a lot worse.

Meanwhile for Laura, she continues to live it up at the clubs. She doesn’t act in the way one would be expected to after such a traumatic experience. It could be the way she is coping but as Biegler says, that doesn’t matter right now, they need the good optics. So he tells her to stop looking so beautiful all the time which is a rather difficult demand for her. Throughout the movie everyone keeps commenting on how beautiful she is and she loves flirting nonstop. That’s basically her gimmick and it doesn’t do wonders for Biegler here. After all, she told the group what happened and there was circumstantial evidence to support it but it’s not like anyone else was there and the cleanup crew could find no evidence.

Thing is, they weren’t likely to find evidence since they didn’t show up until the next day. The movie never actually confirms what happened one way or the other as you are meant to come to a decision on this just like the jury. Personally I do think it happened. Going back to the coping part, I think that’s exactly what happened here. She could have froze up and completely broken mentally but instead she tried to just move past this and use her beauty as a weapon. Her history of flirting and going around started even before the event so most likely it is an event that went sideways. She doesn’t intend to change her ways after one bad outing and either way it doesn’t excuse the guy who got murdered in any way. He got what was coming to him and that’s that.

The film acknowledging that optics are important is a realistic move. Most things are about optics which is why PR is so important. Even if the facts haven’t changed, it does make sense that more people will be sympathetic to Laura’s plight if she looks really homely. It’s a huge bias to be sure but one that does track when you take data samples. In a perfect world she should be able to dress and act however she likes without it affecting her case but nobody lives in a perfect world just yet. I am glad that Biegler stayed strong when she was flirting with him though. That would definitely have been a whole mess and someone has to stay professional. She was really goading him on too but he didn’t take the bait. It is a dangerous game because eventually someone might make a move but at least that day was not today.

One thing that’s always tricky here though is when a film is trying to present someone as super beautiful. A lady so gorgeous that every guy falls for her immediately. There are standards of beauty and people who will immediately be found attractive by most but it’s never to this kind of exaggeration. I would have liked at least one character to have not appeared to be interested just to keep it from being this one sided. Like Biegler admitting she wasn’t his type or something. It’s a super mild nitpick though and I suppose anyone reviewing the film who does think she is super beautiful may disagree on that point. It’s just a pretty large generalization but maybe everyone in the area grew up with roughly the same standards and she would meet all of their criteria each time.

I’d say the only weak part of the film is how people in the courtroom couldn’t really stay professional. The fact that talking about underwear in such a serious case would have people laughing was just weird. I know cultural norms change over time but that felt like a bit much. For a case this serious I wouldn’t expect very many smiles to be had at all, let alone full laughter. Based on that I would assume Laura had already lost the whole jury if they weren’t taking this seriously.

The ending was rather unexpected I have to say. I just wasn’t prepared for things to go in that direction but it’s an interesting way to end things. Sort of like the cycle continues and it also makes you rethink how the case ended one last time. This is really a movie that did not end until the very last moment. I don’t see things going well for the two characters who vanished at the end but maybe things will be better this time. Who knows in the end…..

Overall, This was definitely a very intense movie. There are a ton of characters and supporting evidence that show up at different points in the film. Different twists, half truths, and new developments that recontextualize everything before it. You really have to be paying attention at all times or you might miss something. I’d have preferred the case was about a different topic as the gravity of this one does lower replay value to an extent but you will want to watch it at least once to see what was really going on here. It’s super well known for good reason after all. I doubt you will find very many titles that are quite as detailed as this one. Of course whether or not the law would agree with this, I would say Manny made the right move in taking the guy out. Manny was a terrible character overall but you can’t let that guy live after what he did to Laura. That would really have been the wrong move.

Overall 7/10

Boomerang!

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Boomerang! is a rather odd name for this film. It’s certainly not one of the first names that you would guess when thinking about this one. That said, the film definitely gets a solid thumbs up all the way. The court scenes are handled very well and the story is a good one. With quality writing and a solid story backing it up, you can tell that a lot of heart was put into this film.

The story starts with a priest/minister being murdered and the assailant runs off into the night. Unfortunately it was late and nobody got a good look at the guy. He’s now on the run and the police are being put under a lot of heat in order to find him. The local government is getting involved as well and so nobody is happy. The current administration is trying to stay in business and this could be game over for them. Meanwhile the other side is naturally thrilled since this could be their chance to be in charge. Henry is right in the thick of it as the prosecutor in the case. He is being pressured every which way but has to decide to look at the case fairly.

It’s a very compelling story here and of course when there’s a lot of pressure put on you like this, it can make every decision feel very tough. Henry knows that his career could be over depending on how he goes about this and he is even threatened at gunpoint to make a certain decision. So he can’t forget that all eyes are on him here. The fact that it will be very difficult to get any tangible evidence on whoever committed the crime is really what will make this a tough battle to get around.

Throughout the film we see how the hysteria gradually reaches everyone. It starts out with some of the townsfolk being upset and before long everyone is watching the news real closely. At one point they are even ready to beat up the police to attack the main suspect in case the court system was going to let them off. By this point they’re no better than a mob of course and to think before now the town had been completely peaceful. It all changed within the span of a day. That’s how big this current case was.

As the main character, Henry is great from start to finish. He really does try to examine all of the evidence himself to make sure that he is doing the right thing. He isn’t afraid to look really closely into some of the evidence even if it could hurt his case as the prosecutor. Henry really wants to do the right thing even if it’ll hurt him politically and keeps his cool even when a gun is pointed on him. It’s hard to find a lead that’s much better than he is, Henry always made the right decisions when it counted.

Robinson is the police chief and I liked him as well. He makes sure to do a very thorough interrogation of the suspect John to make sure that he really is the criminal. Robinson is one of the last people to really buy into this guy being the crook and that’s established as one of his personality traits. He doesn’t change his mind easily which is very helpful at the start of the film and less so by the end. There is definitely a lot of tension between him and Henry later on in the film since they have two different ideas about how this situation should go. Definitely a good character though and the kind of guy you want as the police chief.

Then you have John who is the big suspect here. I would certainly make the case that John didn’t handle the situation very well but it probably wouldn’t have matter much to an extent. There was just too much circumstantial evidence here for him to have gone. He was in the town at the right time to commit the murder and even had a gun that is linked with the bullet. All signs pointed to him being the guilty party so it was difficult for him to not appear guilty.

John seemed really upset right from the jump but getting dragged in on murder charges will do that to you. Someone even comes in to give false testimony and mess him up just as a grudge which makes him even more upset. I feel like the lady was let off easy for completely showing up with a false statement to try and get rid of John but at least they warned her. John signing the document also made sense because after a few days of this kind of interrogation is seems likely that almost anyone would crack.

I tend to love court scenes so with a big part of this film taking place there, I knew this was going to be good. Henry does a great job of breaking down the case point by point in a way that’s easy to follow and that can get the jury on his side. He really dismantles every point that he tackles in a very systematic way. He was ready for some of the witnesses to give him a hard time and with ways to debunk everything. Some of these counters involved a lot of lengthy tests from before the trial which shows that he did his homework.

Henry was taking this case very seriously and it’s a flattering look at the justice system. It may not always work out but this town can certainly breathe easy when you have guys like Henry on the job. The corruption didn’t win this time as the politicians try messing around but they couldn’t break Henry. In part this is also thanks to one of the reporters who was around named Dave. This guy always knew when a story would strike and had quicker reaction times than the others. So he was the first to leave the room and the first to enter it. He’s also responsible for a lot of the snappy dialogue in the film which is always a blast. The banter here was top notch!

Overall, Boomerang! is a great film on all accounts. The writing and story are strong and the characters are just as solid to match that. The movie does a great job of showing how everyone just really wanted someone to pin the blame on regardless of how good the evidence was. A crowd can certainly be stirred up into a frenzy very quickly and that’s exactly what happened here. It was great to see the town get so engaged with what was going on but of course the obvious downside is how extreme they take this. The townsfolk sometimes end up being more of a hinderance than a help with how they try to get everyone arrested.

Libel Review

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Whenever a film has a court scene I know it’s going to be good and the effect naturally increases when almost the whole film is built around such a case. Libel is a movie that really handles all of its elements really well. You’ve got a strong cast here and a lot going on as well. The movie has a very satisfying journey and conclusion so it’s definitely worth your time to check it out.

The movie starts with Jeffrey arriving home in between tours at the army. He is enjoying a quick drink when a program goes on TV that startles him. It’s his old friend Mark except some things don’t make sense. Mark has convenient memory loss but Jeffrey knows this has to be fake. His friend Mark is dead and this has to be an imposter known as Frank. Jeffrey publishes an article in the paper exposing Mark and so Mark retaliates by suing him. The two of them must now go into court to battle it out and see if Mark is telling the truth or if he is actually Frank. Only one man can walk away the victor this time so they will have to battle it out pretty carefully.

The court is in session for a good chunk of the film spanning several days. It’s definitely a blast seeing the case unfold in real time as the characters try to connect the dots and see what is going on. We get several different flashbacks, some of which we see more than once from different points of view. We learn a whole lot about the characters, particularly Frank who is clearly an antagonist. In the flashbacks he is quick to threaten Jeffrey’s life with a pipe he found and just seems unhinged the entire time. Certainly not someone you can get along with. If anything I think Mark had too loose of an attitude with him. He shakes off the fact that a murder was nearly committed or that Frank was reading his letter. Throughout the flashbacks we see that Mark never took him very seriously which definitely ends up being a bit of a mistake.

It was hard to understand him there. The whole “Both of you stop” is always the worst response when it’s clearly only one of the characters starting something. Mark is a solid main character in the present though. He definitely has a of self doubt thanks to what happened in the war and being a bit traumatized here and there but on the whole he seems to be a good guy. This case is definitely doing a number on him as well though.

Meanwhile you have Margaret who is doing her best to support him even when things get rather tricky. He really isn’t giving her a lot to work with though so Margaret has to find everything out along with the Jury which puts her in a pretty tricky spot. Finally you have Jeffrey who has to be the standout character here. He is quite determined to see justice done and that’s always something you have to respect in a character. He’s not doing any of this for money but to keep up the honor of his friend’s name and to protect everyone from the deception. From his point of view, he can’t exactly let this slide.

You’ve also got some side characters running around as well. One of them is Mark’s cousin who has a story about a scar that makes things difficult at trial. He definitely seems like a slippery character. Then you have the two lawyers who were really good. Both of them do a really good job of defending their clients and I do like how it was mentioned that they get along really well outside of work. It shows that they do a good job of not letting the work ever get too personal. They do their jobs and just make sure to do them well.

All of the court scenes were handled with a lot of dignity which is always important. Everyone follows the rules and so the experience goes pretty smoothly. The actual mystery is explained pretty well too. It’s all pretty logical and does take us from point A to B. The whole amnesia thing is super convenient of course but I guess without that we would not have a film at all. As a result Mark ends up acting a little shady near the beginning of the film with how he keeps so many secrets all the time. Part of it was memory loss and the other part was just hiding things so he doesn’t take any chances which is extremely risky.

The main characters have a dog and a kid but surprisingly they don’t appear much. I’m definitely fine with that so we can cut to the heart of the matter. That said, it does illustrate why it is such a bad idea to keep your doors unlocked all day and allow tours of the residence. If it had been more of a dangerous guy instead of Jeffrey, he would have easily had time to kidnap the family or even just rob some things as he walked out. Of course this film is quite old but you still feel like the whole thing was a bit reckless of the leads. It’s not really important to the plot but when you see the reporters just walking in and taking names, it definitely makes you think.

Overall, Libel is a solid film. The story is very interesting and the characters are good. When you mix that together then you have a good film that can stand on its own and has a good amount of replay value. One thing that was not fully explained was the moment with the jacket. Best thing I could think of was the character being worried that anyone finding out what had happened could get him in trouble but if anything then you would want less evidence right? Leaving the jacket could be worse so I’m not sure exactly what was going on there but that’s really my own question. Beyond that you’re all set to just jump in and have a good time here.

Overall 7/10