This film must be counted among the worst courtroom dramas ever filmed. Typically, the eyewitness testimony and the lawyers' summations are riveting. In this case, the viewer desperately wants the court scenes to end to get back to the main crime investigation.
Matthew Modine is the down-on-his-luck attorney, who was closed to suicide after the tragic death of his wife and children in an auto accident. The legal case serves as his "comeback" from depression, as he seeks an innocent verdict for a fine, young man who has been falsely accused of killing his girlfriend.
As the trial winds down, the viewer begins to recognize that the subtext of the film is retailing a Christian message that has to do with the theme of "life." The trial drags on with the closing arguments, then deliberations of the jury for a sentencing. The film's big "payoff" scene comes after the trial has concluded and we finally learn who is the real villain. SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: In a nearly comic scene in the defense attorney's office, the villain turns out to be a psychiatrist, who has a fondness for drugging his victims, prior to killing them. By this point, the film has lapsed into comedy.
The best thing to say about the trial is that it appears on Amazon Prime for FREE!
Matthew Modine is the down-on-his-luck attorney, who was closed to suicide after the tragic death of his wife and children in an auto accident. The legal case serves as his "comeback" from depression, as he seeks an innocent verdict for a fine, young man who has been falsely accused of killing his girlfriend.
As the trial winds down, the viewer begins to recognize that the subtext of the film is retailing a Christian message that has to do with the theme of "life." The trial drags on with the closing arguments, then deliberations of the jury for a sentencing. The film's big "payoff" scene comes after the trial has concluded and we finally learn who is the real villain. SPOILER ALERT FOLLOWS: In a nearly comic scene in the defense attorney's office, the villain turns out to be a psychiatrist, who has a fondness for drugging his victims, prior to killing them. By this point, the film has lapsed into comedy.
The best thing to say about the trial is that it appears on Amazon Prime for FREE!