Primal Fear - 1996
"Acting is not that far from mental disease: An actor works on splitting his character into others. It is like a kind of schizophrenia" - Vittorio Gassman
This is a review of an Edward Norton's iconic performance in "Primal Fear". In fact, this guy is a god of acting when its about double personality roles. He may seem like an angel but then within less than a second, you find yourself facing the demon himself. I was convinced that "Primal Fear" would be the type of courtroom drama that Hollywood seems to use to pave the streets with. You know what I mean: Someone gets wrongly accused of some mischief, he can't pay a lawyer, but of course there is one who is really interested in the case and he is prepared to defend the poor guy anyway. The defender finds some holes in the police investigation or in the statement of the other party and knows to prove the innocence of his client and even get a big indemnity. Well, I was wrong, for once this was a courtroom drama that had a bit more to offer than the usual story line and twists. In fact, this was even a very enjoyable movie.
Trailer
Initial release: April 3, 1996 (USA)
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Nominations: Academy Award for Best Actor in a supporting Role...
Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture...
Screenplay: Steve Shagan, Ann Biderman
Actors : Edward Norton, Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Frances McDormand ...
Here's some scenes from the movie
Marty becomes Aaron lawyer:
Aaron here tried to look innocent. While Marty showed no feeling, hoping to convince his client that it's okay to tell him the truth, cause he is his a lawyer and he will protect him anyway. But Aaron said that he didn't commit that crime, he said that there was a third person in the room, and that he don't remember his face simply cause he lost time at that moment. Marty could only believe him, even that he didn't show that.
The dark side of Aaron :
Marty hired a psychologist, to talk to Aaron. Her name was Molly. They talked about this "black out" thing. And about Linda, his girlfriend. Here we see how far could Edward go in taking this innocent role; the expressions he made, and the way he talk, made me think, that maybe this movie is about this cute boy who would be oppressed by the law. But in the end of the consultation, in less then a second, Roy appears for a few moments. Please welcome the dark side of Aaron.
It was me, boy :
Now we know that there is a Roy. But do we know him ? This is the scene where Edward shows his best. It's the scene that i've watched over and over again. To face Roy, all you need to do is piss Aaron off. That's what Marty did, while he was playing the mean guy. And once Aaron felt so weak, Roy had to come and give this lawyer a lesson. By this, me, Marty, and everybody else was almost convinced that Aaron was insane. And that Roy was the murder. People can fix that in hospital not in prison.
Roy in the court:
Even that he was beaten, Marty felt happy, and hopeful after meeting Roy. So all he had to do now is to show Aaron's bad side, so the judge knows he's insane. As Marty fails doing that, Laura Linney seemed to be the best actress to provoke Aaron. Playing the role of Mrs.Venable, this actress did a unique performance, influencing the audience and the spectator with her brilliant speech. But sorry for her, cause she had to face Roy.
The twist :
I completely believed that Aaron was insane. For me the movie was about this murder who had a double personality. So yeah, the scenario is good. But "good" was not enough after knowing the whole truth.Unbelievable. There was never an Aaron. Roy was acting since the beginning. And Marty seemed like he don't care about the truth. I mean he would just do his job, and that's it. And now he found himself a partner with the criminal
