Review of Primal Fear (1996) by Akshay M — 16 Oct 2014

A powerfully well acted piece of drama, which drops to a certain level of lack of procedures, but lifts itself back up again. It works to the high depths of keeping the audience guessing from start to finish.

Richard Gere and Edward Norton ( in his film debut ) star as an attorney and a convict. When an altar boy called Aaron Stampler is convicted of murdering the Archbishop Rushman, attorney Martin Vail, steps in to defend his case and support him to the point of believing he's in fact innocent, but further mystery lies ahead revolving the case. The audience will put up with uncertainty about the situation, but will remain amused as the movie proceeds, and it's not easily predictable.

Gere and Norton's performances overshadow the downsides of the movie as their acting is so fabulous, and I'm aware Norton received an Academy Award Nomination, but if Gere's performance is not so Oscar-worthy, it's a performance that will further success in his career.