Review of Primal Fear (1996) by Daniel K — 29 Oct 2009

3: I hate that I can no longer remember if they picture tricked me the first time around. I'm fairly certain I saw this as a teenager soon after it was released and I remember thinking it was a good film.

I still think so, but it has obviously lost much of its punch. The filmmakers work very hard to fool the viewer into believing Edward Norton's character. It certainly helped that he was an unknown quantity prior to this.

He gives a creditable performance, but it seems so obvious in retrospect that he is full of crap. One of the more impressive elements of the film is the reveal at the end. The fact that much of it was improvised makes it that much more extraordinary.

The entire cast gives quality performances and the story is engaging. This defense seems to have lost its value in the real world, but it makes for an engaging Hollywood piece. I love that he gets away with it in the end and the lawyer is left out in the cold.

Great tone, balance, and performances throughout. Solid Hollywood genre piece.