Oh, you've got to be kidding. Another write-off ?

Upon levda's invitation into this write-off for films set in Chicago, I was all set to review one of my all time favorite mindless fun movies: The Blues Brothers. Instead in the aftermath of last nights 20/20 program about catholic priests becoming the fastest growing segment of the population acquiring AIDS, I decided to set my sights instead on one of my favorite dramas Primal Fear.

Primal Fear: The movie.
Or: Watch Edward Norton get ripped off, watch Richard Gere watch himself, and watch a catholic cardinal be himself.

***MAJOR PLOT SPOILER ALERT***

The film Primal Fear is a courtroom drama set in the world of deceit and restitution. It is the story of Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton), a backwoods Kentucky bred alter boy caught up in the pornographic appetite of the cardinal. In his longing to escape this fate, the boy brutally murders this "man of God" and the drama is set into some serious high gear motion.

Enter one Martin Vail (Richard Gere), eager to take on this high profile case. For justice being served by freeing an innocent man ? For furthering his own cause defendant be guilty or not ? For the simple fact that Vail is his own biggest fan ? I guess you'll have to decide this one for yourself, but suffice it to say hang on for the ride of your life.

As Vails interview proceeds in an attempt to get the story straight, the stuttering Stampler reveals he doesn't remember the previous days affairs because as he tells it himself: "I lo, I lo, I lost time" It seems our friend Aaron Stampler has some well timed blackouts and this is the hook Marty is looking for. Basing the defense on this fact, in the hopes of at least getting his client some leniency, Mr. Vail hopes to convince the judge and jury of the fact that Aaron simply is the victim of his own disorder.

Meantime, Vails assistant (Played excellently by Andre Braugher) is hard at work digging up dirt on everyone from the cardinal, who's off-altar lifestyle is all-porno-all-the-time, (sound like the 20/20 report ?) to the district attorney himself who lost millions on a real estate deal gone bad.

After all is said and done, Marty is taken aback by the revelation that Aaron not only lost himself a little time, but he also has a few extra personalities to fall back on which explain the lost time. Now is the time to really try to get a case going and Vail hands Stampler over to his psychiatrist (Frances McDormand) in an attempt to get some expert testimony. But in accord with the law, the defense can't be changed from one line to the other, and the insanity plea cannot be entered.

Vail by now seems to be hook-line-and-sinkered into believing Aarons innocence and will stop at nothing in the trial to prove this. Already aware of Aarons violent outbursts when under duress, one being directed at him and one at the psychiatrist, good old Marty decides to press the issue in the trial by letting the prosecutor Janet Venable (Laura Linney) get in harms way as he pushes Aarons buttons and then stands back as it hits the fan.

***MAJOR PLOT TWIST WARNING***

Fast forward to the end of the trial and Aaron in his holding cell as the judge and Marty work out an amicable stay for young Stampler in a hospital to cure him of all his ails. This is where the twists start. As Marty and Aaron celebrate the understanding verdict, Aaron screws up by asking a question he shouldn't have known about because he was supposed to be in a blacked out state. "How's Miss Venable's neck" ? He attacked her in court, but was supposed to have been "Roy", the alter ego. As marty walks out, not realizing the mistake, he does a double take and returns.

"What did you say" ? It then becomes painfully obvious that Marty, the judge, and all those involved not only believed in Aaron, but were most helpful in obtaining his institutional care. As Marty does a U-turn back into the holding area, we are shocked by what transpires. It seems Aaron has taken the entire justice system for a ride. I never saw it coming, but some of the more ardent mystery types did including my wife. Marty asks Aaron what the story is, and in his ever pitiful stuttering act he goes on to tell Marty what a moron he is. As Marty reflects on what just happened, he asks "was there ever even a Roy" ? To this Aaron replies the question is: "was there ever an Aaron" ?

Personal Points to Ponder, along with an Oscar rant:

I was hook-line-and-sinkered along with Marty. I figured it as one of those feel good endings where everything is sugar coated, and rammed down out throats. I hate those these days, because reality is so not even close. When Aaron/ Roy flashed his little "gotchya" smirk at Marty and the movie ended I was shocked, and ever so pleased because the ending where the bad guy finally gets away with it in the end happened. No sugar coating, no stepford pot-o-gold at the end of this rainbow, it was all colored blood red (Mike breaks out into violent applause).

for those who stay two steps ahead of suspense/ mystery plots, this one was coming a mile away. For me I am more inclined toward mindless fun movies. I don't want to figure out plots and get intellectual, just throw some stupidity at me and I'm good to go. The reason this was one of my favorite flicks is the shock value. I continually whine with oh so happy oh so sappy endings, and watching a vicious psycho get away with a brutal murder was just what the mind doctor ordered.

Now on to the Oscar rant. Edward Norton was up for an Oscar for his Aaron/ Roy part and I had him all locked in. The reasons why I was incensed will not be revealed because some of the non-thinkers among us will get their low I.Q. NR clickers going, and call me a racist. If you know me even a little, you already know even the thought of this is completely insulting at best. Cuba Gooding Jr. ended up with the hardware at the end of the day, and I think this was a complete mis-use of votes. Some pampered athlete running around spouting "show me the money, show me the money" was such a far cry from the excellent job done by Norton in Primal Fear that I will never look at any awards show the same...ever.

There were many fine points I didn't include in this review because even though the plot is well covered, you really need to see it for yourself to get the most out of it.

Now your mission even if you choose not to accept it, is to visit all the others in this movies set in Chicago write-off and view their own excellent submissions. The list goes like this: levda, flowrchild, martytdx, wivabef, hava, kristinafh, ChrisJarmick, Debbie26, AmberM, Joubert, Obiwanjabroni, OdellBurgess, and little ol' RoadieM.




Recommended: Yes