This is not a review: 'And Justice for all' has been reviewed to death here below: as comedy; as a tour-de- force acting performance by Al Pacino; as an entertainment and as a musical showcase. I was hugely entertained by this movie but in a different way.
This is a personal evaluation of a landmark movie directed by Norman Jewison and written by Barry Levinson & Valarie Curtin. The film reflected the rage that many felt against the failed Criminal-Justice system of 25-yrs ago. Since then, Judges have been reigned in somewhat, and DNA technology has freed thousands, many even from death row. What still persists is law-enforcement's inability to admit a mistake. Officialdom will move heaven and earth to stand firm on any previous decision; as if to admit error would undermine the legal edifice and bring the law into disrespect. The opposite is true of course. The whole world knows that mistakes are made in adjudicating the relations between people and if law enforcement could admit this fact with grace, the whole legal system would run more smoothly, in fact an order of magnitude smoother and more efficiently. And thus the rage.
I would like to start at the end.
With titles running, Arthur Kirkland, Baltimore lawyer, is sitting, bewildered and despairing on the steps of the Baltimore Court House; he has just blown the career he loved. His rage at the phony and corrupt criminal-justice system has led him to betray the client he was sworn to defend and he will surely be disbarred. The trial he has been ejected from will certainly be declared a mistrial and a vicious criminal may go free. The affair he was having with Gail Packer, a thing of the past.
The writers had no doubt about the story they were telling. It's a story about justice denied to all but those who can get the best legal representation and that means money. It is a story of a system where judges have become so arrogant and crazed by their own power of life or death that they have lost all contact with the world around them. Without a modicum of respect for the rights of those that come before them for justice, sometimes carelessly and sometimes with malice they meddle heedlessly in peoples lives causing havoc and dismay.
The plea-bargaining system also comes in for its share of bashing. In the lobbies and antechambers of the CourtHouse we see lawyers and prosecutors haggling over the penalties to be meted out in exchange for a guilty plea. These are almost biblical scenes of temple desecration.
Judge Henry T. Fleming played by John Forsyth is the metaphor for evil in this movie. His aloofness and arrogance and his repetition of the words 'I don't care' convey the awesomeness of his depravity. He really doesn't care about the people who come before him or their lawyers or the rest of the World for that matter. In this he is the distilled essence of evil. As the story evolves we realize that this man is more criminal than those who appear before him and all ironies are complete. In the penultimate scene, the 'You are out of order' scene; Judge Fleming, accused rapist, and Kirkland's client gazes sternly and coldly at Kirklands' helpless rage.
This is a personal evaluation of a landmark movie directed by Norman Jewison and written by Barry Levinson & Valarie Curtin. The film reflected the rage that many felt against the failed Criminal-Justice system of 25-yrs ago. Since then, Judges have been reigned in somewhat, and DNA technology has freed thousands, many even from death row. What still persists is law-enforcement's inability to admit a mistake. Officialdom will move heaven and earth to stand firm on any previous decision; as if to admit error would undermine the legal edifice and bring the law into disrespect. The opposite is true of course. The whole world knows that mistakes are made in adjudicating the relations between people and if law enforcement could admit this fact with grace, the whole legal system would run more smoothly, in fact an order of magnitude smoother and more efficiently. And thus the rage.
I would like to start at the end.
With titles running, Arthur Kirkland, Baltimore lawyer, is sitting, bewildered and despairing on the steps of the Baltimore Court House; he has just blown the career he loved. His rage at the phony and corrupt criminal-justice system has led him to betray the client he was sworn to defend and he will surely be disbarred. The trial he has been ejected from will certainly be declared a mistrial and a vicious criminal may go free. The affair he was having with Gail Packer, a thing of the past.
The writers had no doubt about the story they were telling. It's a story about justice denied to all but those who can get the best legal representation and that means money. It is a story of a system where judges have become so arrogant and crazed by their own power of life or death that they have lost all contact with the world around them. Without a modicum of respect for the rights of those that come before them for justice, sometimes carelessly and sometimes with malice they meddle heedlessly in peoples lives causing havoc and dismay.
The plea-bargaining system also comes in for its share of bashing. In the lobbies and antechambers of the CourtHouse we see lawyers and prosecutors haggling over the penalties to be meted out in exchange for a guilty plea. These are almost biblical scenes of temple desecration.
Judge Henry T. Fleming played by John Forsyth is the metaphor for evil in this movie. His aloofness and arrogance and his repetition of the words 'I don't care' convey the awesomeness of his depravity. He really doesn't care about the people who come before him or their lawyers or the rest of the World for that matter. In this he is the distilled essence of evil. As the story evolves we realize that this man is more criminal than those who appear before him and all ironies are complete. In the penultimate scene, the 'You are out of order' scene; Judge Fleming, accused rapist, and Kirkland's client gazes sternly and coldly at Kirklands' helpless rage.