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Hollywood. A popular actress, Angela Beale (Gina Gershon), is accused of murdering her sister's husband. Beale requests the aid of a successful, high profile attorney, Norman Keane (James Garner). Keane and his assistant Rica Martin (Mary-Louise Parker) believe that cases are won when the public is won over. However, Keane is experiencing overexposure at the moment, so he uses the front of a fresh-faced, Iowa graduate student, Roy Gyton (Edward Kerr, The Astronaut's Wife) . Lies and deception first win many over, but a sleuthing tabloid reported (Kathleen Turner) sniffs out some cracks and exploits them. However, Keane may have a few surprises of his own since he is the ultimate chess master in the game of Legalese.
My first impression of this film is that James Garner was genius casting as a powerful attorney. And he was; Garner is utterly believable, and his slight ticks and savvy glances, and varying tones keep you guessing what's up his sleeve. His debates and foresight based on experience are winning. Screenwriter, Billy Ray (Hart's War) wrote great dialogue for Keane. Indeed, Garner was Actor's Guild-nominated as best actor in 1998 (ultimately won by Christopher Reeve for Rear Window). The rest of the cast are terrific, especially Kathleen Turner as a smart, unabashed career woman with a saucy diva flare. Mary-Louise Parker won me over and seems to connect really well with other actors when she wants to. However, she's always . . . kind of . . . the same in every role I've seen her play. Sexy Gina Gershon looks every bit like a Bond Girl, but with conniving brains. Her dramatically devilish features help her to sink her teeth into this role with satisfaction, but it's too bad that Gershon is frequently in roles where her character is so selfish. Edward Kerr plays the 26-year-old grad student, and this is one of Kerr's most high profile films; he is ultimately the lead. A little pressure, one could say. Though Kerr was actually 32 at the time, his full head of hair and perky attitude helped him pull off a younger fella with predominate believability. While Kerr gets to use his all-American look and acting instincts effectively, he can deliver an overly breathless innocence at every turn, which may have been director driven. Still, Kerr is a winner and well cast. He holds his own and admirably displays charisma and connection with the other more experienced actors.
Be aware that there is more dialogue in this film than perhaps expected. However, it is warranted because of the many debates between varieties of characters. Most characters very selfishly drive the plot turns, so Roy is helpful to give us someone who seems morally centered despite some of his initial compromises. Glenn Jordan directed and co-produced this film well; he had many TV films under his belt including the acclaimed Sarah, Plain and Tall series. The finesse of the camera work and scene rhythms is classy, avoiding operatic visuals or being powerfully stylistic. Suitable for the subject matter.
Some of the plot twists and revelations are interesting and did have me guessing. Keane is always, credibly one-step ahead of everyone with astonishing wit! I enjoyed that the most. Overall, I liked this film while watching it, but its whole momentum had a common denominator of recycled dramatic elements of corrupt attorneys (or any kind of older executives) against younger, "innocent" colleagues. Not a bad film, overall, but it was not something that leaves one very enthusiastic. I'm quite shocked that the film had been branded with an R rating. The only nudity was a distant half-second butt shot, I don't remember harsh language, and there certainly wasn't any violence. This film would barely squeak into a PG-13 rating. The R rating of this made-for-TV (TNT for heaven's sake!) film would hurt its sales, so this is disappointing and seems inappropriate. Shame on the MPAA for this excessive rating. Other basic cable shows are more extreme than this film, and it shouldn't take an attorney to prove that truth.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
This film is presented in its original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio in anamorphic video. Another wonderful transfer from New Line that truly rivals (and often blows away) other bigger budgeted films. Authoring house, Cinram Digital Media Services does a splendid job with rich, spot-on, realistic colors and skin tones courtesy of the skilled colorist, Jim Garrow. Film grain is extremely fine under any condition be it exterior, interior, day or night. This brings a delightfully film-like viewing experience revealing textures of tweed blazers, hair and skins pores (and make up on all actors). Compression issues never emerged, nor did any annoying haloing. This is a very clean print with nary a blemish. I have not reviewed a film that looked this great since Joyride. But, certainly, Cinram Digital Media Services can only produce quality compression if the film is in the best condition. Therefore, credit must to be given to the talented filmmakers who originally captured this film so professionally, and the studio that stored it properly.
Back to the transfer, contrast is also very well handled with deep, rich blacks that will blend into the widescreen bars with the same black values. Whites are clean and sharp. My only complaint, which is very minor, is that while the gray scale terrifically reveals nice shadow detail, there are times when it does wane a little. Part of that reason is that the camera's aperture is sometimes set wide and then has a very shallow focal plane for good focus. This is a normal, stylistic technique that importantly brings only a few objects into sharp focus, and that's great and no problem. However when the scope of the picture was in focus, i.e. the camera's aperture is small, sometimes the shadow detail can wane a touch and go right into black a tad too quickly. This is a minor complaint, but... well, I'm just doing my job. Overall, this is a fantastic print that feels fresh and alive. Huge kudos to New Line - as usual!
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby Digital and DTS on the DVD. Of course, a film like this really wasn't made to blow the roof off like Terminator 3. However, the audio sounds clean and full-bodied. Dynamic range is fine for the material with no noticeable problems. The .1 LFE was smooth and gently active, but it never hits any extreme lows - but did it need to? (Ok, the little geek in me says, "Heck yea, it does!" But ignore his irrationality.) Highs were smooth, but without a soaring feel to them when the score or other elements were added, perhaps not something one would normally notice. Dialogue is very crisp, clear and natural sounding, which is most critical to a film like this. The fronts display a fair soundstage but with little panning between them. The surrounds are active with pleasant ambiance and musical cues, but without any wide-ranging frequencies; I noticed no split activity at all. A clean, polished presentation is exhibited, without any surprising fanfare. The DTS is a hair louder. But, after the volume was equalized, the best improvement I noticed with DTS is the dialogue; annunciation of words is slightly crisper. Everything else is nearly a dead heat between DTS and Dolby Digital; either mix is fine. This is a respectable mix that harmonizes with the film presentation.
A 2.0 Dolby Surround mix is included. English closed captions, and English and Spanish subtitles are included.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
For supplements, we only have three trailers for the films: Amongst Friends, Proof, and Kansas City. Be aware that each of these quick-cutting trailers are nearly two minutes long and seem to contain spoilers.
The feature film is broken into 20 chapters.
Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?
An InterActual-driven CD-Rom feature is included that will launch you onto New Line's website and advertisements for Legalese.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed the moment-by-moment feel of this film. But while Legalese has potential to be a missed gem with quality performances and production values, and includes a few credible plot twists... when it was over, I just kinda felt like the basic inertia of the film didn't break any new ground. Regardless, the transfer is one of the best I've seen in years, the audio is solid, but supplements are puny. Inappropriately labeled an R-rated film, this falls much more properly under the PG-13 level. This remains a decent rental and a worthwhile purchase by any fan of the film or the actors.
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