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+ Best Shooting Star Actor of the Year: Edward Norton
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| Richard Gere is a defense lawyer caught in the shadows of what he does on the poster for Gregory Hoblit's Primal Fear |
Primal Fear is the screen feature debut of Texan filmmaker Gregory Hoblit (Hart's War (2002)), an adaptation of William Diehl's (Sharky's Machine (1978)) same-titled 1993 novel by Steve Shagan (Gotti (1996)) and Ann Biderman (Copycat (1995)).
We follow Chicago's leading defense attorney, as he takes a high-stakes case pro bono: A young altar boy who claims amnesia is captured and suspected of the gruesome killing of the city's archbishop.
Primal Fear has an air of reality to its plot and characters, and together with the complex protagonist, - who is not at all a good guy, but more of a guy who's trying to justify to himself (and a reporter who follows him around) that the stuff that he does for a living is alright, - this makes for a compelling film.
The primal fear of the film's title I take to refer to the lead character's dilemma as a defense lawyer: How can I be certain you're telling me the truth? And in extension of that question; how can I make sure that I am safe from you, and everyone out there? (The primal fear being that we can't, of course, make sure that we get the truth from anyone, or that we're safe, ever.)
The details:
While the photography and score is alright craftsmanship but not inspired or memorable in any way, the acting performances are strong, and they heighten the suspense and entertainment value of this rather dark neo-noir treat:
Richard Gere (Pretty Woman (1990)) is great as our capable but morally questionable hero, and so is Laura Linney (Mr. Holmes (2015)) as the equally capable prosecutor, whom he has had an affair with. Their chemistry and seriousness are admirable. But for many it is Oscar-nominated Edward Norton (The Score (2001)), in his screen debut, who shines in Primal Fear and steals the movie as the sheepish alter boy. Predicting the outcome of this thriller is a major part of its attraction. And even if you guess right (as I did), it's a good film.
The cast is also adorned with such good actors as Frances McDormand (Olive Kitteridge (2014), TV-miniseries) as a psychiatrist, Alfre Woodard (Annabelle (2014)) as the boozing judge, and John Mahoney (Frasier (1993-04)), who, however, is sort of too nice to portray the power-mad character he is given here.
SPOILER The dual identity/personality disorder theme was hot in the 1990s: Norton would go on to portray someone who seriously suffers from it in Fight Club (1999), and another of the decade's most memorable thrillers, The Usual Suspects (1995)) also relies on the device.
Related post:
1996 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Cost: 30 mil. $
Box office: 102.6 mil. $
= Box office success
[Primal Fear opened #1 to a 9.8 mil. $ opening weekend in North America, where it stayed #1 for a total of three April weeks, before The Quest (1996) took over. It grossed 56.1 mil. $ (54.7 % of the total gross) domestically. Norton lost the supporting actor Oscar to Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Maguire (1996). Primal Fear is fresh at 74 % with a 6.7 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of Primal Fear?
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