Review of Primal Fear (1996) by Brett B — 21 Mar 2010
Primal Fear is a fantastic thriller with a riveting plot, strong writing and a terrific cast featuring two powerful performances from Richard Gere and a young Edward Norton. The plot begins with a particularly brutal killing of a priest and a young man played by Ed Norton is caught cover in blood but claims he is innocent and when a lawyer (Gere) takes on the case, he discovered that this case may be more complicated than he once thought.
I'm usually not a big fan of court room thrillers but the film is written really well and the plot has a few excellent twists to it that kept me compelled. Plus, Primal Fear has one awesome ending.
The acting is great, Gere delivers in his role, Laura Linney is stellar as the competing laywer but the real draw is the powerful performance from Ed Norton. There is also a very good supporting cast with strong roles from Terry O' Quinn, McDormand and Mahoney.
The film is a bit slow in parts but for the most part I was hooked on the absloutely riveting story. Overall, Primal Fear is stellar & very under-rated thriller with outstanding performances (Norton is haunting) and an unpredictable plot that keeps you guessing till the final frame.
This review of Primal Fear (1996) was written by Brett B on 21 Mar 2010.
Primal Fear has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
