that can be a good or bad thing, depending on the material, and actors involved.
In this instance Glenn Close gives a worthy performance, although she seems to be using one facet of her many sides; she has so much more to offer. For a talented actor, the role of hard-boiled lawyer Teddy can hardly be challenging.
Peter Coyote is also good as prosecutor, albeit a bit crude and seems a bit too well dressed, considering he works for the prosecution. Robert Loggia as Teddy's investigator, determining whether Jeff Bridges is a sociopath or not. Would he kill his wife for money?. Seemingly no. He seems a decent, narcissistic, handsome newspaper publisher.
The sub-theme of Teddy, shirking her career, and attending the funeral of a young (innocent) man who hangs himself in jail seems gratuitous. These days, any lawyer who is successful defending criminals most probably would not attend a funeral in these circumstances. It is nice to humanize the attorney, but not at the expense of reality. I am certain audiences today have a hard time empathizing with any attorney.
That being said, the story is intriguing, although now redundant. The courtroom scenes a bit too protracted, but Close and Bridges have a believable chemistry in this. Supposedly Eszterhas wrote this with intimations of the Manson killing; rather strange considering the fact that that was SUPPOSEDLY a random, violent killing, According to Mr. Vincent Bugliosi, author and prosecutor in 1969. 7/10.
