Primal Fear (1996)
Genre: Thriller
Duration: 129 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Gregory Hoblit
Stars: Richard Gere, Edward Norton and Laura Linney
IMDb score:
7,7 (277.752)
Releasedate: 6 March 1996
Primal Fear plot
"Sooner or later, a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real."
An arrogant lawyer takes on the case of a boy who was arrested by the police while running from the murder of a bishop. The case becomes complex when it becomes clear that, in addition to the boy, a third person may have been present at the time of the murder.
Actors and actresses
Martin Vail
Janet Venable
Aaron
Shaughnessy
Shoat
Molly
Yancy
Goodman
Pinero
Stenner
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
-
- 87585 messages
- 12833 votes
Boring.
Hoblit scores quite well as a director, but I have to say that I have never consciously come across his name before. I already thought Fracture was pretty bland, this one is even worse, because Primal Fear is not much more than a dull courtroom drama.
The year, on the other hand, explains the high score somewhat. A film that clearly lives on the twist-wave of films like Scream or The Usual Suspects. Maybe the ending in '96 was a great twist, but in 2017 such a plot twist is hardly startling, especially when it looks rather glued to the back.
Gere is a somewhat characterless actor, Norton is normally quite good, but his character is too transparent here. It also looks acted, as does the role of Linney, who falls short as a credible lawyer. Plot and direction cannot save this film.
And to expect any audiovisual stimulus from a 90s court drama is also a bit naive. It is visualized and now and then there is sound, there is not much more to say about it.
A rather dull film, therefore, with an unusually high score. In many films it is the elaboration or the choices of the director that lead to a low score for me, so that I can still place a high score (taste and such), but with Primal Fear the hand of a director is mostly missing. Gray band work, apart from some genre clichés there is very little to experience.
1.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
Peter Pan
-
- 277 messages
- 657 votes
A great movie 25 years ago, still a great movie now!
This film has all the ingredients a good thriller needs. Although apparently the intention today is to complain about the supposedly long running time and slowness, because everything has to be fast, this film shows how it should be!
More than 2 hours is really nice, there is time for the introduction of the characters, there is time for dialogues, a nice middle part that brings peace and nothing needs to be rushed towards the end.
Richard Gere, a good actor and always plays believable, which also applies to Laura Linney, but Edward Norton does a really great role here! Polite, humble, touching, not only his lawyer, but also the viewer he really fools...a joy to watch!
With a very thick plot twist on the plot twist, this remains one of the better films in this genre!
Worth revisiting once in a while
9-
4.5
Translated from Dutch · View original
Sergio Leone
-
- 4403 messages
- 3088 votes
Reasonable.
A movie I should have seen a long time ago. After all, he is well rated. Nevertheless, I had no idea what it was going to be about. The poster was (and still is) reminiscent of a thriller - a manhunt by longtime cop Richard Gere. Well, that's not what it turned out to be. It has become: a court drama.
The 90s seem to have blown a lot of wind in that genre. Primal Fear is certainly not the worst of them. It doesn't really impress either. First of all, you have a cast that hardly appeals to the imagination. Gere is Gere: if anything more needs to be done than an affable grin, it falls through the basket. In mediocre acting, he is grandiosely surpassed by Laura Linney - bizarrely bad. And Edward Norton, apparently his big break, is otherwise okay, but I'm never impressed by that. He has a great reputation with his movies in the late 90s, but I don't see it that way.
A dusty drama remains. Not really bad, but not too much new under the sun either. As a viewer, you feel everything in which direction it is going - it is far too easy for a film for that. The big twist is also a typical product of that time. Very cool, but isn't it all that horribly surprising?
The film, inevitably, leans on that, which in my case isn't necessarily the best thing.
3
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