One of the most gripping, interesting, "can't-put-it-down" movies I've ever seen. EVERY time this movie is on TV I cannot but help watch it. The screenplay and the acting are masterful and suspenseful- EVEN though I've seen it more than once! Now THAT'S a test of greatness- when you can watch something over & over & it still has a sense of suspense and awe.
The casting is masterful- James Woods as the historically sleezy lawyer who usually takes cases that are awful and usually guilty of whatever they've been accused of. Mercedes Ruhel as the prosecutor is great because of her stoically indignant style of prosecution. This combines in the movie to make it look like initially the media *did* get it right. But then little by little things go sour. In one of the best performances she's ever given, Lolita Davidovich is spellbinding as the child therapist who gets caught up in the whirl-wind of the whole thing. Starting out with a decent motive, she ends up being the truly bad seed that started it all. She is awesome in the court room scene, as is Woods.
If you've read any of the reviews here, you will know that this movie is about the infamous McMartin trial in which basically a whole family & their employees at a preschool were accused of hundreds of counts of child molestation. It turned out after over 5 years; none of the accusations were true. The media had basically taken over the justice system in an insipid and insidious way. This was actually the first time this had happened like this. (Yes, it has since happened again on a different level in a different way.) Also, the presumption of innocence for the accused was totally discarded.
The way the media whipped people into a frenzy over the appearance of things and making these people out to be evil echoes some of the things that are going on today. In fact, it's very similar to the way Lou Dobbs has presented immigrants as something evil to be feared. Media... it can really warp the truth. One of the biggest tragedies is that the news- which is specifically supposed to enlighten and inform, has become so much about entertainment that it's lost its soul. This movie shows so well how things can be twisted- how the media can plant the seed in the minds of its viewers-- MUCH like the way Kay McFarland planted seeds in the mind of the children she "interviewed" for CII.
The Salem witch-hunts can happen again. Be on your guard- it really can happen here in America.
The casting is masterful- James Woods as the historically sleezy lawyer who usually takes cases that are awful and usually guilty of whatever they've been accused of. Mercedes Ruhel as the prosecutor is great because of her stoically indignant style of prosecution. This combines in the movie to make it look like initially the media *did* get it right. But then little by little things go sour. In one of the best performances she's ever given, Lolita Davidovich is spellbinding as the child therapist who gets caught up in the whirl-wind of the whole thing. Starting out with a decent motive, she ends up being the truly bad seed that started it all. She is awesome in the court room scene, as is Woods.
If you've read any of the reviews here, you will know that this movie is about the infamous McMartin trial in which basically a whole family & their employees at a preschool were accused of hundreds of counts of child molestation. It turned out after over 5 years; none of the accusations were true. The media had basically taken over the justice system in an insipid and insidious way. This was actually the first time this had happened like this. (Yes, it has since happened again on a different level in a different way.) Also, the presumption of innocence for the accused was totally discarded.
The way the media whipped people into a frenzy over the appearance of things and making these people out to be evil echoes some of the things that are going on today. In fact, it's very similar to the way Lou Dobbs has presented immigrants as something evil to be feared. Media... it can really warp the truth. One of the biggest tragedies is that the news- which is specifically supposed to enlighten and inform, has become so much about entertainment that it's lost its soul. This movie shows so well how things can be twisted- how the media can plant the seed in the minds of its viewers-- MUCH like the way Kay McFarland planted seeds in the mind of the children she "interviewed" for CII.
The Salem witch-hunts can happen again. Be on your guard- it really can happen here in America.