Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- At its core, "Find Me Guilty" suffers from an inexorable moral problem. The movie is based on the longest criminal trial in U.S. history. For over 21 months in 1987-88, the government persecuted 20 members of the Lucchese crime family from New Jersey on 76 criminal conspiracy counts. At center stage of this protracted drama was a classic clown. One defendant, Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio, acting as his own attorney, cracked jokes, teased witnesses, mocked cops and tried the patience of attorneys on both sides. Apparently, the jury welcomed his comic relief. According to the movie, one woman juror found him "cute."
So Sidney Lumet's first film in over six years wants to turn all moral values topsy-turvy: The villain is an unsmiling federal prosecutor, Sean Kierney (Linus Roache), who wants to put murderers, drug dealers, whoremongers and swindlers behind bars. The hero is a crime soldier, who holds law and honesty in contempt, but at least he's cute.
Lumet had made a career out of exploring moral ambiguity on the street and in courtrooms -- "12 Angry Men", "Serpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Prince of the City" and "The Verdict". Here though there is no moral ambiguity. True, Jackie Dee could have achieved greater success in life as a standup comic on TV than as a knee-breaker and drug pusher. Only he didn't. Lumet and co-writers T.J. Mancini and Robert McCrea confuse comic flamboyance with redemption and mob loyalty with integrity.
Even if audiences get past this hurtle, courtroom scenes drag on forever and the claustrophobia soon grates. Premiering in competition in Berlin 16 months after the start of principal photography, "Find Me Guilty" will probably find small theatrical audiences in North America despite the scenery chewing of star Vin Diesel. Cable television beckons.
"I'm not gangster, I'm a gagster," Jackie Dee tells the jury, after Judge Finestein (Ron Silver) reluctantly allows him to act as his own attorney.Despite having dealt with the legal system most of his life either on trial or in prison, Jackie is surprisingly clueless about the law and courtroom procedures even though lead defense attorney Ben Klandis (a commanding Peter Dinklage) attempts to give him a crash course.
Jackie is pretty much a Loose Cannon throughout, alternately entertaining and disgusting jurors and infuriating mob boss Nick Calabrese (Alex Rocco, perfect casting). His "charm" is that Jackie says whatever comes into his head to uproarious results. The downside is his antics are usually irrelevant to the evidence at hand.
Since the trial resulted in one of the most shocking verdicts in American judicial history, the film would have us believe Jackie's clowning turned the tide. But, in courtroom parlance, the film presents absolutely no evidence that his clowning had any effect one way or the other.
So we're left with Diesel in one of his strutting, preening, look-at-me-ma performances, one that in this instance apparently fits a real-life character. All the acting is solid including a knock-'em-dead single scene by Annabella Sciorra as Jackie's ex-wife.
Lumet and d.p. Rob Fortunato shoot on high-definition video to keep the production process snappy -- always a Lumet trademark -- and sets, colors and costumes as natural as possible. There's no doubt that at 80, Lumet still can get a good-looking production on its feet. Too bad that he does so here to celebrate a jerk.
FIND ME GUILTY
Yari Film Group/Three Wolves Production
Credits:
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Sidney Lumet, T.J. Mancini, Robert McCrea
Producers: Bob Yari, Robert Greenhut, George "Zakk" Vitetzakis, T.J. Mancini, Bob Debrino
Executive producer: Oliver Hengst
Director of photography: Rob Fortunato
Production designer: Christopher Nowak
Costumes: Tina Nigro
Editor: Tom Swartwout.
Cast:
Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DeNirscio: Vin Diesel
Ben Klandis: Peter Dinklage
Sean Kierney: Linus Roache
Judge Finestein: Ron Silver
Nick Calabrese: Alex Rocco
Bella: Annabella Sciorra
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 123 minutes...
BERLIN -- At its core, "Find Me Guilty" suffers from an inexorable moral problem. The movie is based on the longest criminal trial in U.S. history. For over 21 months in 1987-88, the government persecuted 20 members of the Lucchese crime family from New Jersey on 76 criminal conspiracy counts. At center stage of this protracted drama was a classic clown. One defendant, Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio, acting as his own attorney, cracked jokes, teased witnesses, mocked cops and tried the patience of attorneys on both sides. Apparently, the jury welcomed his comic relief. According to the movie, one woman juror found him "cute."
So Sidney Lumet's first film in over six years wants to turn all moral values topsy-turvy: The villain is an unsmiling federal prosecutor, Sean Kierney (Linus Roache), who wants to put murderers, drug dealers, whoremongers and swindlers behind bars. The hero is a crime soldier, who holds law and honesty in contempt, but at least he's cute.
Lumet had made a career out of exploring moral ambiguity on the street and in courtrooms -- "12 Angry Men", "Serpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Prince of the City" and "The Verdict". Here though there is no moral ambiguity. True, Jackie Dee could have achieved greater success in life as a standup comic on TV than as a knee-breaker and drug pusher. Only he didn't. Lumet and co-writers T.J. Mancini and Robert McCrea confuse comic flamboyance with redemption and mob loyalty with integrity.
Even if audiences get past this hurtle, courtroom scenes drag on forever and the claustrophobia soon grates. Premiering in competition in Berlin 16 months after the start of principal photography, "Find Me Guilty" will probably find small theatrical audiences in North America despite the scenery chewing of star Vin Diesel. Cable television beckons.
"I'm not gangster, I'm a gagster," Jackie Dee tells the jury, after Judge Finestein (Ron Silver) reluctantly allows him to act as his own attorney.Despite having dealt with the legal system most of his life either on trial or in prison, Jackie is surprisingly clueless about the law and courtroom procedures even though lead defense attorney Ben Klandis (a commanding Peter Dinklage) attempts to give him a crash course.
Jackie is pretty much a Loose Cannon throughout, alternately entertaining and disgusting jurors and infuriating mob boss Nick Calabrese (Alex Rocco, perfect casting). His "charm" is that Jackie says whatever comes into his head to uproarious results. The downside is his antics are usually irrelevant to the evidence at hand.
Since the trial resulted in one of the most shocking verdicts in American judicial history, the film would have us believe Jackie's clowning turned the tide. But, in courtroom parlance, the film presents absolutely no evidence that his clowning had any effect one way or the other.
So we're left with Diesel in one of his strutting, preening, look-at-me-ma performances, one that in this instance apparently fits a real-life character. All the acting is solid including a knock-'em-dead single scene by Annabella Sciorra as Jackie's ex-wife.
Lumet and d.p. Rob Fortunato shoot on high-definition video to keep the production process snappy -- always a Lumet trademark -- and sets, colors and costumes as natural as possible. There's no doubt that at 80, Lumet still can get a good-looking production on its feet. Too bad that he does so here to celebrate a jerk.
FIND ME GUILTY
Yari Film Group/Three Wolves Production
Credits:
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Sidney Lumet, T.J. Mancini, Robert McCrea
Producers: Bob Yari, Robert Greenhut, George "Zakk" Vitetzakis, T.J. Mancini, Bob Debrino
Executive producer: Oliver Hengst
Director of photography: Rob Fortunato
Production designer: Christopher Nowak
Costumes: Tina Nigro
Editor: Tom Swartwout.
Cast:
Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DeNirscio: Vin Diesel
Ben Klandis: Peter Dinklage
Sean Kierney: Linus Roache
Judge Finestein: Ron Silver
Nick Calabrese: Alex Rocco
Bella: Annabella Sciorra
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 123 minutes...
- 2/22/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Screened at the Berlin International Film Festival
BERLIN -- At its core, "Find Me Guilty" suffers from an inexorable moral problem. The movie is based on the longest criminal trial in U.S. history. For over 21 months in 1987-88, the government persecuted 20 members of the Lucchese crime family from New Jersey on 76 criminal conspiracy counts. At center stage of this protracted drama was a classic clown. One defendant, Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio, acting as his own attorney, cracked jokes, teased witnesses, mocked cops and tried the patience of attorneys on both sides. Apparently, the jury welcomed his comic relief. According to the movie, one woman juror found him "cute."
So Sidney Lumet's first film in over six years wants to turn all moral values topsy-turvy: The villain is an unsmiling federal prosecutor, Sean Kierney (Linus Roache), who wants to put murderers, drug dealers, whoremongers and swindlers behind bars. The hero is a crime soldier, who holds law and honesty in contempt, but at least he's cute.
Lumet had made a career out of exploring moral ambiguity on the street and in courtrooms -- "12 Angry Men", "Serpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Prince of the City" and "The Verdict". Here though there is no moral ambiguity. True, Jackie Dee could have achieved greater success in life as a standup comic on TV than as a knee-breaker and drug pusher. Only he didn't. Lumet and co-writers T.J. Mancini and Robert McCrea confuse comic flamboyance with redemption and mob loyalty with integrity.
Even if audiences get past this hurtle, courtroom scenes drag on forever and the claustrophobia soon grates. Premiering in competition in Berlin 16 months after the start of principal photography, "Find Me Guilty" will probably find small theatrical audiences in North America despite the scenery chewing of star Vin Diesel. Cable television beckons.
"I'm not gangster, I'm a gagster," Jackie Dee tells the jury, after Judge Finestein (Ron Silver) reluctantly allows him to act as his own attorney.Despite having dealt with the legal system most of his life either on trial or in prison, Jackie is surprisingly clueless about the law and courtroom procedures even though lead defense attorney Ben Klandis (a commanding Peter Dinklage) attempts to give him a crash course.
Jackie is pretty much a Loose Cannon throughout, alternately entertaining and disgusting jurors and infuriating mob boss Nick Calabrese (Alex Rocco, perfect casting). His "charm" is that Jackie says whatever comes into his head to uproarious results. The downside is his antics are usually irrelevant to the evidence at hand.
Since the trial resulted in one of the most shocking verdicts in American judicial history, the film would have us believe Jackie's clowning turned the tide. But, in courtroom parlance, the film presents absolutely no evidence that his clowning had any effect one way or the other.
So we're left with Diesel in one of his strutting, preening, look-at-me-ma performances, one that in this instance apparently fits a real-life character. All the acting is solid including a knock-'em-dead single scene by Annabella Sciorra as Jackie's ex-wife.
Lumet and d.p. Rob Fortunato shoot on high-definition video to keep the production process snappy -- always a Lumet trademark -- and sets, colors and costumes as natural as possible. There's no doubt that at 80, Lumet still can get a good-looking production on its feet. Too bad that he does so here to celebrate a jerk.
FIND ME GUILTY
Yari Film Group/Three Wolves Production
Credits:
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Sidney Lumet, T.J. Mancini, Robert McCrea
Producers: Bob Yari, Robert Greenhut, George "Zakk" Vitetzakis, T.J. Mancini, Bob Debrino
Executive producer: Oliver Hengst
Director of photography: Rob Fortunato
Production designer: Christopher Nowak
Costumes: Tina Nigro
Editor: Tom Swartwout.
Cast:
Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DeNirscio: Vin Diesel
Ben Klandis: Peter Dinklage
Sean Kierney: Linus Roache
Judge Finestein: Ron Silver
Nick Calabrese: Alex Rocco
Bella: Annabella Sciorra
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 123 minutes...
BERLIN -- At its core, "Find Me Guilty" suffers from an inexorable moral problem. The movie is based on the longest criminal trial in U.S. history. For over 21 months in 1987-88, the government persecuted 20 members of the Lucchese crime family from New Jersey on 76 criminal conspiracy counts. At center stage of this protracted drama was a classic clown. One defendant, Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio, acting as his own attorney, cracked jokes, teased witnesses, mocked cops and tried the patience of attorneys on both sides. Apparently, the jury welcomed his comic relief. According to the movie, one woman juror found him "cute."
So Sidney Lumet's first film in over six years wants to turn all moral values topsy-turvy: The villain is an unsmiling federal prosecutor, Sean Kierney (Linus Roache), who wants to put murderers, drug dealers, whoremongers and swindlers behind bars. The hero is a crime soldier, who holds law and honesty in contempt, but at least he's cute.
Lumet had made a career out of exploring moral ambiguity on the street and in courtrooms -- "12 Angry Men", "Serpico", "Dog Day Afternoon", "Prince of the City" and "The Verdict". Here though there is no moral ambiguity. True, Jackie Dee could have achieved greater success in life as a standup comic on TV than as a knee-breaker and drug pusher. Only he didn't. Lumet and co-writers T.J. Mancini and Robert McCrea confuse comic flamboyance with redemption and mob loyalty with integrity.
Even if audiences get past this hurtle, courtroom scenes drag on forever and the claustrophobia soon grates. Premiering in competition in Berlin 16 months after the start of principal photography, "Find Me Guilty" will probably find small theatrical audiences in North America despite the scenery chewing of star Vin Diesel. Cable television beckons.
"I'm not gangster, I'm a gagster," Jackie Dee tells the jury, after Judge Finestein (Ron Silver) reluctantly allows him to act as his own attorney.Despite having dealt with the legal system most of his life either on trial or in prison, Jackie is surprisingly clueless about the law and courtroom procedures even though lead defense attorney Ben Klandis (a commanding Peter Dinklage) attempts to give him a crash course.
Jackie is pretty much a Loose Cannon throughout, alternately entertaining and disgusting jurors and infuriating mob boss Nick Calabrese (Alex Rocco, perfect casting). His "charm" is that Jackie says whatever comes into his head to uproarious results. The downside is his antics are usually irrelevant to the evidence at hand.
Since the trial resulted in one of the most shocking verdicts in American judicial history, the film would have us believe Jackie's clowning turned the tide. But, in courtroom parlance, the film presents absolutely no evidence that his clowning had any effect one way or the other.
So we're left with Diesel in one of his strutting, preening, look-at-me-ma performances, one that in this instance apparently fits a real-life character. All the acting is solid including a knock-'em-dead single scene by Annabella Sciorra as Jackie's ex-wife.
Lumet and d.p. Rob Fortunato shoot on high-definition video to keep the production process snappy -- always a Lumet trademark -- and sets, colors and costumes as natural as possible. There's no doubt that at 80, Lumet still can get a good-looking production on its feet. Too bad that he does so here to celebrate a jerk.
FIND ME GUILTY
Yari Film Group/Three Wolves Production
Credits:
Director: Sidney Lumet
Writers: Sidney Lumet, T.J. Mancini, Robert McCrea
Producers: Bob Yari, Robert Greenhut, George "Zakk" Vitetzakis, T.J. Mancini, Bob Debrino
Executive producer: Oliver Hengst
Director of photography: Rob Fortunato
Production designer: Christopher Nowak
Costumes: Tina Nigro
Editor: Tom Swartwout.
Cast:
Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DeNirscio: Vin Diesel
Ben Klandis: Peter Dinklage
Sean Kierney: Linus Roache
Judge Finestein: Ron Silver
Nick Calabrese: Alex Rocco
Bella: Annabella Sciorra
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 123 minutes...
- 2/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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