BEFORE: I forgot to mention that the Oscar nominations were announced the other day - my boss' animated short was in contention, but didn't get a nomination. So, my dream of being mentioned in an Oscar acceptance speech got deferred once again. Tonight's film DID get a nomination for its star, Paul Newman (last seen in "Road to Perdition"), and he's also the recipient of Birthday SHOUT-out #7 - he would have been 86 today.
THE PLOT: Frustrated in his attempt to solve a murder of a union head, a prosecutor leaks a false story that the son of a dead mob boss is a target of the investigation, hoping that he will tell them something for protection.
AFTER: Hmm, I thought this was more of a courtroom drama, I think maybe I confused it with "The Verdict". But as in last night's film, we see the damage that can be done by a murder investigation, or in this case, just the implication of one in a newspaper article. A man's business and his friend's reputation are destroyed, and he hasn't even been arrested for anything.
Then things seem to spiral out of control, with charges of libel, bribery, and improper wire-tapping, and still none of it brings anyone any closer to finding out what happened to the missing mobster! The problem is, it's all extremely boring.
Turns out there was something sort of like a trial near the end - I guess it was more of an inquiry, as Wilford Brimley's character shows up to find out who's playing who. And in the center of the scandals is an improper romance between the reporter and the target of the investigation - getting a little too close with your research, hmm?
So, this is a film that didn't know what it wanted to be - love story, crime film, or twisty legal drama. And you can't really be all those things at once. Did I mention it was boring?
Also starring Sally Field (last seen in "Soapdish"), Bob Balaban (last seen in "Capote"), Melinda Dillon (last seen in "The Prince of Tides", but more famous as the mother from "A Christmas Story")
RATING: 3 out of 10 printing presses
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