Rating of
1.5/4
Just another ordinary courtroom drama.
ikkegoemikke - wrote on 01/06/17
"They don't teach this in law school. Yes, all witnesses lie."
"The whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God". How many times have we heard this phrase in some court drama? And that's also the biggest flaw in this film. Haven't we seen it all before somewhere? There was only one thing I was asking myself after a while. Who the hell wasn't lying during this trial? And that's what Richard Ramsay (Keanu Reeves) tells the newly recruited Janelle (Gugu Mbata-Raw) in the beginning. The fact that witnesses always lie. Except Mike Lassiter (Gabriel Basso). He hasn't told a lie yet. He kept his mouth shut since the murder. The fact that his hand-print is found on the bloody knife his father Boone (Jim Belushi) was killed with, is enough to consider him as the prime suspect.
The movie isn't really so bad. But it's all so trivial and known that eventually it feels like you're watching an average television drama. It's such a film you subsequently watch again one day and after a while you realize you've seen it already. The well-known cliche's that go with such a crime story, are of course present. You can already assume that the main suspect hasn't done it. Of course you start to focus on another character who could steal the first prize as the prime suspect. And then finally as the plot unfolds, you'll realize you were completely wrong about everything. Although I found the result quite logical.
In the past I sometimes secretly enjoyed an episode of "LA Law". The way a lawsuit developed, with flamboyant lawyers trying to come up with shreds of evidence in a canny way, so they could obtain the acquittal for their client. Not that it was always so terribly exciting, but the overall atmosphere with the intellectual arguments and lyrical lawyers appealed to me. Again, this intellectual posturing is used by Reeves and his colleagues. And actually Reeves is best suited for this type of role. His reserved and stoic calm attitude makes him an ideal candidate. In addition he has this steely expression where you can't detect any emotion. That comes in handy as a lawyer. I'm sure that if he hadn't tried to find his luck in Hollywood, he could have been a damn good lawyer. At least I thought this was a more successful performance than him playing the detective in "Exposed".
The only ones who really shined in this movie were Jim Belushi and Gugu Mbatha-Raw. Belushi plays the annoying, arrogant Boone who loves to place himself on a pedestal and as the dominant family head tortures and humiliates his wife Loretta (Renée Zellweger) psychologically. He isn't afraid to use physical violence as well once and a while. He's a despotic person who doesn't tolerate any contradiction. Until a sharp knife is planted in his chest. Mbatha-Raw plays Reeves' hastily recruited sidekick who apparently has a natural lie detector. Although both parts seem fairly limited or void, their influence on the entire history is significant. Unlike Zellweger who really looks old in this movie and also plays a not so impressive role (every other leading actress could have done the job).
"The whole truth" is a trite legal spectacle that results in an ordinary guessing game. That is guessing who's the ultimate culprit. Even the generally marvelous interacting cast can't avoid it to be completely boring with nothing spectacular happening. Most of the time it takes place in a courtroom. That's quite evidently and not surprising. The attempt to contrive a denouement that looks like a huge surprise, so you'll be amazed by the final revelation, wasn't such a success. Are you a big fan of this type of movies? In that case this will be a pleasant treat. However, don't expect too much. "The whole truth" certainly won't create a new precedent in the world of court dramas.
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