| Primal Fear | |
|---|---|
_poster.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Gregory Hoblit |
| Screenplay by | |
| Based on | Primal Fear byWilliam Diehl |
| Produced by | |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Chapman |
| Edited by | David Rosenbloom |
| Music by | James Newton Howard |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million[1] |
| Box office | $102.6 million[2] |
Primal Fear is a 1996 Americancrimelegal dramamysterythriller film directed byGregory Hoblit, based on the 1993novel of the same name byWilliam Diehl, written bySteve Shagan andAnn Biderman. It starsRichard Gere,Laura Linney,John Mahoney,Alfre Woodard,Frances McDormand, andEdward Norton in his film debut. The film follows aChicago-based defense attorney who believes that his client, analtar boy, is not guilty of murdering aCatholic bishop.
The film was a box office success and received positive reviews, with Norton's performance earning critical praise. Norton won theGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actor and theBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[3]
Martin Vail is an arrogantChicago defense attorney, known for defending undesirable but high-profile clients, including doctor (and alleged mob boss) Joey Piñero. Vail was previously a state prosecuting attorney, but after finding it to be a dead-end career, he became a defense attorney. Fond of the spotlight, Vail is profiled for a magazine cover story, then attempts to rekindle a casual relationship with a former colleague, prosecutor Janet Venable. Publicly belovedArchbishop Rushman is found murdered and mutilated in his bedroom. Aaron Stampler, a 19-year-oldaltar boy fromKentucky, is caught fleeing the scene covered in blood and subsequently charged with murder. Vail offers to defend himpro bono.
The meek,stuttering Aaron claims to be innocent, but is prone toamnesia and unable to remember what happened about the murder. He claims a third person was in the room. Vail believes Aaron, while thestate's attorney, John Shaughnessy, assigns Venable to prosecute the case and pursue the death penalty. At Aaron's apartment, Vail's investigator Tommy Goodman is attacked by another altar boy, Alex, who flees.Neuropsychologist Dr. Molly Arrington interviews Aaron about his difficult childhood, his memory lapses, and his missing girlfriend, Linda.
With help from Piñero, Vail discovers that powerful civic leaders, including Shaughnessy, lost millions inreal estate investments due to Rushman's decision not to develop church-owned land, which includes apro bono clinic owned and operated by Piñero. A passage linked toThe Scarlet Letter was carved into Rushman's chest, which the police interpret as the murder motive and denouncing the archbishop as "two-faced". Vail and Goodman find Alex, who claims he was searching for an incriminatingVHS cassette in Aaron's apartment. Removing the tape from the archbishop's closet at the crime scene, thus not properly entering it into thechain of custody, Vail and his team discover multiple footage filmed by the archbishop in which he coerces Aaron, Linda, and Alex to engage in sexual acts. Vail and his team assume that Rushman threatened the youths with eviction from their group home, providing a motive for Aaron to murder Rushman.
Vail angrily confronts Aaron about concealing information, but he denies the accusations, becoming increasingly distressed as he continues to press him. Aaron's demeanor abruptly shifts from deferential to aggressive, and he chastises Vail for "scaring off" Aaron. This violent personality, calling himself Roy, admits to killing the archbishop but threatens Vail not to introduce the tape at trial. Suddenly, he reverts to Aaron's docile personality, with no recollection of the episode. Dr. Arrington concludes that Aaron hasdissociative identity disorder caused by years of abuse by both his father and, later, Rushman. Vail grows conflicted, knowing that he could acquit his client via aninsanity defense, but he cannot legally change his strategy mid-trial.
Vail delivers the evidence anonymously to Venable, forcing her to use the tape as proof of Aaron's motive, at the risk of tarnishing the archbishop and generating sympathy for Aaron. Shaughnessy demands that she destroy the evidence, but she refuses and introduces it in court. Piñero is discovered murdered, and Vail surprises the court by calling Shaughnessy as a witness. Vail suggests he resented the archbishop for stopping the $60 million land development deal, and accuses him of concealing previous evidence of the archbishop's sexual predation, and being complicit in Piñero's death.
The judge intervenes and fines Vail for using the courtroom for his personal vendettas. She also dismisses Dr. Arrington's testimony as it leans too close to an insanity plea. Vail calls Aaron to the stand, intentionally triggering him to become Roy, who screams obscenities and assaults Venable. The judge dismisses the jury in favor of abench trial to declare Aaron not guilty by reason of insanity. Vail informs Aaron that he will be remanded to apsychiatric hospital for treatment and likely released. When Aaron expresses remorse for injuring Venable's neck, Vail realizes Aaron was aware of his actions during the attack. Aaron commends the attorney for his insight; he brags he murdered Linda and Rushman without remorse and faked having multiple personalities. He reveals there was never an "Aaron". Vail leaves the courthouse through a back door, stunned and disillusioned.
Several Chicago television news personalities made cameos as themselves as they deliver reports about the case, includingWLS'sDiann Burns andLinda Yu,WBBM-TV'sMary Ann Childers,Lester Holt andJon Duncanson, andWGN-TV'sBob Jordan andRandy Salerno.
Paramount wantedLeonardo DiCaprio as Aaron Stampler; he was offered the role but declined as he found the script "problematic".[4][5]Casting calls were set in California and England where 2,100 actors were seen for the role of Aaron, includingMatt Damon,James Van Der Beek, andPedro Pascal.[5][6][7][8]Connie Britton declined the role of Naomi, which went toMaura Tierney.[4]Primal Fear was filmed in several locations, including Chicago, Illinois, Keystone, West Virginia, and Los Angeles, California. The movie also used Paramount Studios in Hollywood for some scenes. Filming took place between April 28, 1995, and July 12, 1995.
The soundtrack includes the Portuguesefado song "Canção do Mar" sung byDulce Pontes.
The film was released on April 5, 1996, and opened in the #1 spot, remaining there for three consecutive weeks.[9][2] It grossed $56.1 million domestically and $46.5 million internationally for a total worldwide gross of $102.6 million.[2]
The film was released toVHS andLaserDisc on October 15, 1996.[10] On October 21, 1998, it was released toDVD.[11]
Paramount releasedPrimal Fear onBlu-ray on March 10, 2009.[12] The Blu-ray includes an audio commentary track by director Gregory Hoblit, writer Ann Biderman, producer Gary Lucchesi, executive producer Hawk Koch, and casting director Deborah Aquila, as well as the featurettes "Primal Fear: The Final Verdict", "Primal Fear: Star Witness-Casting Edward Norton", and "The Psychology of Guilt".
Review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 77% based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Primal Fear is a straightforward, yet entertaining thriller elevated by a crackerjack performance from Edward Norton".[13]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, lists the film with a weighted average score of 47/100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14] Audiences surveyed byCinemaScore awarded the film an average grade of B+ on an A+-to-F scale.[15]
Janet Maslin ofThe New York Times wrote that the film has a "good deal of surface charm" but "the story relies on an overload of tangential subplots to keep it looking busy".[16]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times awardedPrimal Fear three and a half stars, writing that "the plot is as good as crime procedurals get, but the movie is really better than its plot because of the three-dimensional characters". Ebert described Gere's performance as one of the best in his career, praised Linney for rising above what might have been astock character and applauded Norton for offering a "completely convincing" portrayal.[17]
The film spentthree weekends at the top of the U.S. box office.[2]
The film is recognized byAmerican Film Institute in these lists:
The first half of the 2002IndiaHindi filmDeewangee is inspired fromPrimal Fear[37][38][39][40]
The 2021 Indian Hindi-languagelegal thrillerdrama film,Nail Polish, is also similarly inspired by this movie.[41]
Is Deewangee adapted from Primal Fear? No, it is not. I was inspired by Primal Fear.
The first half of Deewangee was a frame-by-frame remake of Primal Fear featuring Devgan as a schizophrenic murder suspect and Akshaye Khanna as his shrewd lawyer.
