Review of Anatomy of a Murder (1959) by Ivan D — 23 Apr 2010
Films in the "courtroom drama" genre has simple yet effective stipulations, they introduce us to the characters, and let us identify with the honorable attorney and his/her wrongly accused(usually) client.
"Anatomy of a Murder" abandoned those primary ideas and went on pushing into the final verdict until no one, not even the James Stewart(Paul Biegley) character knew what's going on and what's gonna happen next.
It's one of those pictures that bends the trajectory for a satisfying closure, and instead hurls those questions answered in the film into more perplexing questions. The film is seriously toned with explicit remarks or two, but Otto Preminger, using what was left of James Stewart's good guy charm, has able to poke in some few laughs for the audience.
It looks like those were inserted for the sole reason of humor, but in reality, those sequences were specifically put in for viewers to catch their breath in the relentless courtroom intensity, just how the court itself are permitted recesses in between.
Still, above all the complex elements raised in this film, it can also be seen just for the pleasure of witnessing screen legends James Stewart and George C. Scott battle it out in a legal drama. The first time I have seen a courtroom drama that I have never decided which side I am in favor of, yes, even after the final verdict was laid upon.
This review of Anatomy of a Murder (1959) was written by Ivan D on 23 Apr 2010.
Anatomy of a Murder has generally received very positive reviews.
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