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Overall Rating
  Awesome: 21.67%
Worth A Look: 51.67%
Just Average: 13.33%
Pretty Crappy: 5%
Sucks: 8.33%
3 reviews, 42 user ratings
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Primal Fear |
by Ophelia13
"And I thought Edward Norton was great before..."

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Alright, I admit it. I watched Primal Fear because of Edward Norton. The thought of an unknown, outright lying to get a part, and getting away with it, that puts me in awe. And it's obvious why he got the part.Let's face the facts. This movie isn't very good. Richard Gere's ego, both in the character and his very being, is so huge that his head almost doesn't fit on the screen. And Laura Linney. Can the woman EVER make a character sincere and likeable? I have seen a few of her performances, and never liked one. The first hour is drawn out and often irrelevant, and leaves you wondering why. Not why anything. Just why. But then it sort of picks up. Notice the 'sort of', because the entire movie is centered on a lawyer who I know I'm supposed to like, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Now that's I've told you what I don't like about this movie, I'll tell you why you should watch it. You probably already guessed, but it's Edward Norton. I have never seen a performance of his that I didn't like, and this is no exception. In fact, it's quite nearly as good as his performance in American History X, which I don't think I'll ever quite recover from. Aaron Stampler is an alter boy. He has a stutter, and suffers from frequent blackouts. He is one of the most pitiful people you will ever see, and it's endearing. He is present during the murder of the Archbishop who gave him sanctuary, and is arrested after giving chase to the police. This, of course, pegs him as the prime suspect (I don't know, but if I woke up covered in blood near a mutilated body, I'd probably run, too.) Martin Vail is a greedy lawyer, and he decides to take the case "Pro Bono" out of the goodness of his heart, and not the high profile news coverage (of course). Then it get's interesting, as the trial begins and the nature of the killing comes to the surface.Primal Fear contains alot of holes, and some very irritating characters, but on the whole it's very worth watching.
link directly to this review at https://www.hollywoodbitchslap.com/review.php?movie=542&reviewer=130 originally posted: 11/29/99 00:53:41
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USA 03-Apr-1996 (R)
UK N/A
Australia N/A
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