Review of Primal Fear (1996) by Suhail M — 30 Jul 2010

Courtroom-drama written by Steven Shagan and Ann Biderman ["Public Enemies", coincidentally the theme song of her show "Southland" was featured in this movie], based on a novel by William Diehl. Director Gregory Hoblit ["Fallen","Hart's War", "Fracture"] did a solid job. Standout performance by Edward Norton["25th Hour","The Incredible Hulk", "Leaves of Grass"], his performance was flawless yet seemingly effortless. The fact that this was only Norton's second role [and his first big-screen role] is amazing. He definitely deserved the Golden Globe he won, as well as the Oscar nomination.

There were also great performances by Laura Linney["The Squid and the Whale","The Exorcism of Emily Rose","The Big C"], Richard Gere["Unfaithful","Brooklyn's Finest"], "John Mahoney["Dan in Real Life", "Frasier"], Frances McDormand["Wonder Boys","Burn After Reading"], and Alfre Woodard["Crooklyn","Memphis Beat"]. Good supporting performances by Andre Braugher["Homicide: Life on the Street","Men of a Certain Age"], Maura Tierney["ER", "Insomnia", "Instinct"], Jon Seda["The Pacific", "Homicide: Life on the Street"], Terry O'Quinn["Alias", "LOST"], Steven Bauer ["Scarface", "Traffic"], and Stanley Anderson ["Runaway Jury"].

I found the subplots very interesting, as well as the commentary on corruption in the Catholic Church. Some scenes reminded me of the hit Lawyer shows "The Practice" and "Matlock"[If you watched this show you'll know exactly which scene]. Overall it's a very good film with a great ending, I'd definitely recommend this film to anyone who has yet to watch it.