Reversal of Fortune

Starring: Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Uta Hagen, Fisher Stevens, Felicity Huffman
Directed by: Barbet Schroeder
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Mystery
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A lawyer (Ron Silver) takes a case to defend a rich husband (Jeremy Irons) accused of trying to murder his wife (Glenn Close), who lies brain dead in a coma.

Review:

Tim: I have to admit, I wasn't exactly looking forward to Reversal of Fortune. It seemed like a stuffy, slow movie (I knew nothing about it, other than Jeremy Irons won Best Actor, so I needed to see it). My initial assumptions couldn't be further from the truth. This is a great movie- a thoroughly interesting, engaging, exciting movie. I really, really liked the film. It's based on a true story, and it just does a fantastic job of keeping you interested in what's on screen. I did not go into this movie expecting a whole lot, and I left wholly impressed with it.

The story is a powerful one- a rich, cold man is accused of trying to kill his wife, who lies in a permanent coma. He is found guilty, and hires a brilliant lawyer to defend him. The rest of the film involves the lawyer and his team of students researching the case, trying to uncover evidence to exonerate their client, while struggling within their own minds on whether or not he's guilty. This is a film that lives completely in the grey area- there's very little black and white here. This is a film that doesn't give us the answers, instead asking the questions and letting us decide for ourselves.

Jeremy Irons is quite good as Claus von Bulow. He is such a fascinating character- he's a selfish, cold, unlikable man. And yet, simply because he's not a good person does not mean he is guilty of trying to murder his wife. Irons plays him perfectly- at times, he's horrible, at times you start to sympathize with him. He keeps you off balance, never really knowing what to think about him. There were points where I thought he was guilty, and points where I was sure he wasn't. In the end, I'm still not sure what I think, and that is all due to the portrayal of this character by Irons. He won the film's only Academy Award (it was also nominated for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay), for Best Actor. He deserves the award- while his performance isn't the typical, over-the-top Academy showstopper, he quietly and subtly gives this amazing performance. He was great.

Glenn Close was fine as his comatose wife. We see her in flashbacks and she narrates the film from her hospital bed. Close does a good job of making us dislike her character- which adds to the complexity of the film. She's possibly the "victim" of the story, but she's not exactly someone we like. Close works hard to portray her as a flawed, real person, which I appreciated. Victims aren't always innocent, and her performance further complicates the story. We don't like her character, and we don't like Irons, so what do we hope happens? Ron Silver also gives a good performance, as Professor Alan Durshowitz. He does a great job of mimicking the real Durshowitz's mannerisms, and he gives a strong performance. He's the character we can identify with and root for- he's the likable one in this bevy of unlikable people. That was so important for this film- we needed someone on our side, someone we, as the audience, could respect. Silver plays that role.

I found the legal side of this film fascinating. Durshowitz and his team of student lawyers, working tirelessly for their client, is one of the my favorite aspects of the film. It was fun to see all these very smart people together, working towards the same goal. The legal tactics, the infighting, the doubt, and the desire to succeed all came across as believable and interesting. The film did a great job of showing this aspect of the story- these scenes were excellent. The film also spends a great deal of time on flashbacks, where we see the von Bulows before everything fell apart completely. While the flashbacks are important to help us understand these characters, I felt like these scenes occasionally stretched on too long. It wasn't much fun seeing Claus and Sunny's dysfunctional relationship. While some time in flashbacks was needed, I felt like the film spent a little too much time there.

Reversal of Fortune is a fascinating look at a real-life story. It has everything we want in a film like this- possible murder, legal battles, guilty or innocent questions, it's an underdog tale in some ways, and there's a nice mix of likable and unlikable characters. This could have been that stuffy, slow film I was expecting when I sat down. Instead, it's an interesting look at a complex situation, and it held my attention throughout. I really believe this is a great movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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