You know, when you have already watched 12 Angry Men and The Verdict, and then come across a third courtroom drama made by the legendary Sydney Lumet, you'd think the probability of you ending up describing the third film as 'light-hearted' and 'upbeat' is seriously far-fetched.
But
legends are legends for a reason, are they not?
And
Lumet shows exactly that with his
decision of presenting a courtroom drama based on the longest running mafia
trial in US history, in quite the light-hearted and upbeat style.
So,
on one hand you are made aware that all twenty of the defendants occupying the
courtroom are hardcore gangsters no doubt, being tried on multiple counts. They
are lowlifes; people who have chosen to lead a life outside the law to be able
to lead parallely a life of extravagance and excess. They are into drug
distribution, gambling, extortion, and- as an inevitable consequence- murder.
But,
on the other, you are also made to see them as bumbling idiots who cannot help
themselves from engaging in stupid banter. Men who are just that- men.
And
in no time at all you find yourself rooting for them.
Or
more specifically, you find yourself rooting for one of them- Jack Dinorsio,
the real-life gangster who chose to defend himself in this case instead of
hiring a lawyer.
Jack
is portrayed as anything but the quintessial mafia man. He does not talk tough,
has a sense of humour and- most importantly- considers almost every person he
meets as his friend.
'I'm
a gagster, not a gangster' he declares to the jury in the opening argument in a
manner that may not win him a legal battle, but will certainly disarm any human
being. And he continues to do exactly that through the course of the trial- he
disarms everyone, including you, the viewer.
This
is inarguably Vin Diesel's best
performance.
Yes,
you have heard it right.
Diesel-
the same Diesel who now keeps coming
back faster and more furious every year without the need for it, the same
Diesel who goes 'One last time' every time he comes back but then again comes
back the next fucking year and says 'One last time' one more time as if the
last time wasn’t enough for him to understand that people are sick and tired of
repetitive shit and want it coming neither fast nor furious anymore, yes, THAT Diesel- can act. (And how!)
Of
course, it must've helped that he was in Lumet's
more-than-capable hands, but one must give credit where it is due and I must
say, Diesel carries the film through
till the very end with his sheer charisma.
Without
that, I feel this would have been more underwhelming than entertaining.
Four
out of five.
Also, almost forgot to mention how Peter
Dinklage, with this film. proves yet again that he is one fine actor.
Catch
Trailer here:
No comments:
Post a Comment