BEFORE: I met my friend Amy, in from Texas, for drinks tonight, and a game of trivia broke out in the bar we were in, so we stuck around - and we won! The prize turned out to be...more drinks! So I'm a little tipsy as I watch my film tonight...
From a film with one "Star Wars" actor, Harrison Ford, to a film with another, Liam Neeson (last seen in "Taken") - though this film was made before his appearance as Qui-Gon Jinn in Episode 1.
THE PLOT: Two parents deal with the effects when their son is accused of murdering his girlfriend.
AFTER: Last night's film raised the question - how should a person react when their spouse is accused of murder? And tonight's film raises similar points, as a regular couple (an artist and a doctor) deal with a murder charge against their son.
At first the son is nowhere to be found, so we see the early stages of the police investigation, and the two very different approaches that the parents take - one wants to cooperate with the police, the other demands a search warrant. This becomes a constant theme throughout the film - one wants the truth to be told, the other one points out (quite correctly) that the burden of proof is on the prosecution, the state has to prove its case.
When their son finally turns up, he won't talk - but is he hiding his guilt, or just being a moody teen?
This turned into a rather complex little family drama - and a pretty thorough examination of how a crime, or an accusation of one, can split a family apart. It was interesting to see the different legal strategies employed by the family and their lawyer, and what the consequences of each one turned out to be.
But on the IMDB message boards regarding this film, I read about a HUGE plothole - without giving anything away, the story shows (in flashback) the kid's car completely stuck in the snow, and then after the incident, it's back in the parents' driveway (as seen at the start of the film). How did he get the car free from the snow? It had to take some careful planning, and that contradicts the supposed emotional state of panic associated with fleeing from an accident. So now I have to cast doubt upon his whole version of things - and it's a little shocking that no one asked this simple question when presented with his story.
As I've seen many times on "Law & Order", if a murder charge won't stick, there are many other options open to the prosecution - in addition to involuntary manslaughter, there's reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of a crime. The film does address the consequences of tampering with evidence, though - another point carrying over from last night's film.
Also starring Meryl Streep (last seen in "Doubt"), Edward Furlong (last seen in "Animal Factory"), Alfred Molina (last seen in "Chocolat"), John Heard (last seen in "My Fellow Americans"), Ann Magnuson (last seen in "Clear and Present Danger"), and our old pal, character actor Daniel Von Bargen (last seen in "Rising Sun") - as the town sheriff, of course.
RATING: 5 out of 10 postcards
No comments:
Post a Comment