GREATEST COURTROOM MOVIES- PART 6

There are tons of movies that have been done by the entertainment industry. Funny movies make use of humor to ensure they are interesting, while sad movies explore the theme of sadness. The sadness can come about due to losing a loved one in death, heartbreak, or even a tragic accident. Sometimes they portray the sadness people feel when they have to part ways. One move can fall into more than one category, and that's normal. However, there is another genre that has also remained famous to date; courtroom films. Courtroom dramas feature the usual legal and criminal cases in society. It can be a murder case, a rape case, or a case of divorce. Regardless of the theme at the center of any courtroom movie, they still end up being amusing. The production teams involved in shooting courtroom movies work on them in such a way that they end up having outstanding riveting power. That’s why any audience watching a courtroom film remains glued to the screen even for hours and keeps any distraction at bay. To time immemorial, courtroom films will be among the best movies. Here are seven examples of the greatest courtroom movies people can think of watching.

Side Effects (2013)

Plot: the movie focuses on a year woman who suffers psychological trauma after her husband is released from prison. Following her conditions, psychiatrists give her medication to help her manage her condition. The problem started four eyes ago when, due to insider trading, the lady's husband got imprisoned. Four years elapse, and he is finally released from jail. Instead of feeling good, the lady feels even worse and sinks into anxiety and depression. The psychiatrists prescribe her a series of medications. However, these do not add any value, and she only gets worse with time. Eventually, her relationship with her husband is ruined. The whole medication business leads to depreciation in relationships and loss of lives. The husband is murdered eventually.

Director: Side Effects film was directed by Steven Sodenbergh.

Cast: the movie’s cast includes Jude Law (as Dr. Jonathan Banks), Rooney Mara as Emily Taylor), Catherine Zeta-Jones (as Dr. Victoria Siebert), Channing Tatum (as Martin Taylor), and Vinessa Shaw (as Deirdre Banks).

Awards and Nominations: Side Effects movie was well received by critics who nominated it for several accolades.  It received a total of four nominations, but no wins. During the Berlin International Film Festival, the film received a Golden Berlin Bear for Steven Sodenbergh. It was also nominated for two International Online Cinema Awards; the Best Original Screenplay      for Scott Z. Burns and the Best Actress for Rooney Mara. The World Soundtrack Academy Award nominated Thomas Newman for the Film Composer of the Year Award.

Commercial Performance: the film experienced tremendous commercial success. Its box office value was $66.7million. The film’s production had cost $30million.

Trivia: the movie underwent a series of changes prior to its production. For instance, Blake Lively was to play the lead role. However, she pulled out from the cast and was instantly replaced by Rooney Mara. Besides, the film's initial title was Bitter Pill. Times later, the title was changed to Side Effects.

The Hurricane (1999)

Plot: The film follows The Hurricane, a middleweight boxer, otherwise known as carter. In a scandal that occurs in a bar in Jersey's Paterson, The Hurricane is wrongly held in custody by the police. A triple murder occurs, and The Hurricane is the prime suspect. The movie shows how Carter was arrested, how he spends life in prison, and how out of love and compassion, a teenager from Brooklyn named Lesra Martin and his Canadian family freed Carter. Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon developed the movie’s screenplay using Carter's 1974 autobiography called The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender To 45472, and Lazarus 1991 non-fiction work entitled Hurricane: The Freeing of Rubin "The Hurricane" Carter by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton.

Director: The Hurricane film was directed by Norman Jewison.

Cast: the film’s primary cast included Denzel Washington (as Rubin ‘The Hurricane,’ Carter), Vicellous Reon Shannon (as Lesra Martin), Deborah Kara Unger (as Lisa Peters), and Liev Schreiber (as Sam Chaiton).

Awards and Nominations: besides the good commercial performance, the film received accolades from critics who praised its great performance. It took home a total of four wins. During the Berlin International Film Festival, the movie received two awards: the Guild of German House Cinemas for Norman Jewison and the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Actor by Denzel Washington. In addition, the Black Reel Awards; gave Denzel Washington the Theatrical Award for Best Actor. Denzel Washington also received the Golden Globes Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama.

Commercial Performance: The Hurricane movie did well financially. Its production budget cost $50million, and the film hit a top office box value of $74million.

Trivia: The Hurricane film has some elements of historical inaccuracy. In his fight with boxer Joey Giardello, the production team portrays it as a racist fix. Joey took to the court to sue the director for this. This was, however, settled by paying Giardello. Besides, the director added a line to the film, indicating that Joey Giardello was indeed a good boxer.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Plot: this legal drama follows the court trials for seven anti-Vietnam war protesters who are acquitted for crossing the state’s established lines and for conspiring with people during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The State’s authority somewhat believed that the uprising by Chicago seven was the course of the mayhem in the entire state.

Director: Aaron Sorkin was both the movie's director and producer.

Cast: the movie’s cast included Eddie Redmayne (as Tom Hayden, the student association president), Sacha Baron Cohen (as Abbie Hoffman, founding member of the Youth International Party), Alex Sharp (as Rennie Davis, an organizer in Chicago for the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam and also the student association’s national organizer).

Awards and Nominations: The Trial of Chicago 7 is one of the most critically acclaimed courtroom films. The movie received several awards and nominations for its performance. The Academy Awards nominated the film for several awards, including Best Picture (Marc Platt and Stuart Besser), Best Supporting Actor (Sacha Baron Cohen), Best Original Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin), Best Cinematography (Phedon Papamichael), Best Film Editing (Alan Baumgarten), and Best Original Song (Daniel Pemberton & Celeste for "Hear My Voice"). In addition, there are several other awards and nominations by the film.

Commercial Performance: The Trial of the Chicago 7 movie was a commercial failure. It grossed $115,709 against its budgetary value of $35million.

Absence of Malice (1981)

Plot: the film's primary focus is on the theme of libel defamation. It features a young man that hails from a criminal family but is not a criminal himself. Because of his origin, a naïve reporter finds herself in the trap of damaging his name. However, the reporter soon realizes that the man is innocent and helps him fight the FBI agents.

Director: the movie was directed by Sidney Pollack.

Cast: Absence of Malice principal cast included Paul Newman (as Michael Gallagher), Sally Field (as Megan Carter), Bob Balaban (as Elliott Rosen), and Melinda Dillon (as Teresa Perrone).

Awards and Nominations: critics recognized the Absence of Malice movie for its great performance. The Academy Awards particularly recognized the film’s performance and nominated it for three awards; Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Dillon), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Newman), and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. In addition, during the thirty-second  Berlin International Film Festival, The Absence of Malice film was awarded an Honorable Mention.

Commercial Performance: after premiering, the film grossed about $40million. There is no information about how much was spent producing the film. Therefore, commenting about the movie’s commercial performance is impossible.

Trivia: the film has widely been used in journalism to explore the conflict that arises from talking about a subject or a person's involvement in something without having all the facts. It also shows the dangers of having romantic affairs with the source of critical information.

A Passage to India (1984)

Plot: the film has its adaptation on the 1960 Santha Rama Rau's play entitled A passage to India, which was developed from 1924 E.M. Forster’s novel with the title A Passage to India. The film follows the struggle for independence in India from the British colonials. This happens after a mission to visit and explore scenic caves jeopardizes relationships between the two parties. An Indian doctor is accused of rape, making the Indians yearn for independence like never before.

Director: David Lean directed the movie.

Cast: a Passage to India movie had a large cast, including Judy Davis (as Adela Quested), Peggy Ashcroft (as Mrs. Moore), Victor Banerjee (as Dr. Aziz Ahmed), and James Fox (as Richard Fielding).

Awards and Nominations: the movie received wide critical acclaim. The Academy Awards awarded it for Best Supporting Actress (Peggy Ashcroft) and Best Original Score         (Maurice Jarre). The film also received several nominations from Academy Awards, including Best Screenplay – Based on Material from Another Medium (David Lean), Best Art Direction   (John Box, Leslie Tomkins, and Hugh Scaife), Best Cinematography (Ernest Day), Best Costume Design (Judy Moorcroft), and Best Film Editing (David Lean).

Commercial Performance: the film did well upon its release in the market. It grossed $38million against the $14.5million budget.

Erin Brockovich (2000)

Plot: the film focuses on one story of activism by Erin Brockovich. It’s a dramatization of what Erin actually did. Following the Hinkley groundwater contamination, Erin sought to fight the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. It all starts when Erin pleads with her attorney to employ her in a law firm to be involved in a car accident case. While handling the case, she comes across the documents for the underground water contamination. She follows the gas company for the incident.

Director: Steven Sodenbergh.

Cast: the cast included Julia Roberts (as Erin Brockovich), Albert Finney (as Edward L. Masry), Aaron Eckhart (as George, Erin's biker boyfriend), AND Marg Helgenberger (as Donna Jensen).

Awards and Nominations: the film was a subject of wide critical acclaim. The Academy Awards gave Julia Roberts the Best Actress Award. In addition, the film received several award nominations by the same organizations, including the Best Picture Award by Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher, the Best Director Award by Steven Soderbergh, and the Best Original Screenplay by Susannah Grant.

Commercial Performance: the film’s commercial performance was tremendous. It grossed $256illion against the $56million budgetary expenditure.

Trivia: after watching the film, Erin Brockovich commented that it was only 98% accurate. The movie creates some discrepancies, rendering it slightly inaccurate. For instance, the film makes it obvious that Erin used her cleavage to seduce the water board attendant and access the needed documents. Erin denied this, saying that while the cleavage may have partial influence, she did not consciously use it for seduction.

A Soldier’s Story (1984)

Plot: the film focuses on the theme of racism and discrimination. It features a black army investigator who travels to the Louisiana backwoods to investigate the murder of a black sergeant. This happens towards the end of World War II. When he gets there, he finds himself in for a rude shock. An entire community is still immersed in racism. That is actually like a currency they all recognize despite the recent integration.

Director: the film’s director is Norman Jewison.

Cast: A Soldier’s Story movie’s cast includes Howard E. Rollins Jr. (as Captain Davenport), Adolph Caesar (as Sergeant Waters), Art Evans (as Private Wilkie), and David Alan Grier (as Corporal Cobb).

Awards and Nominations: the film received four awards from various organizations. These included the Edgar Award       Best Motion Picture Screenplay by Charles Fuller, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for Best Supporting Actor by Adolph Caesar, the Moscow International Film Festival Golden Prize, and the NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Motion Picture.           

Commercial Performance: A Soldier's Story commercial performance was sterling. Its budget cost $6million, but the film grossed more than $21million after its premiere,

Trivia: the film's critical reception was outstanding. Its ensemble cast, the screenplay, and the direction were all praiseworthy.

Conclusion

Courtroom movies are among the most interesting films. Although they may not explore fun moments, the plot twists are quite riveting. The sensational grip they possess amazingly keeps audiences glued to the screen for the longest time. This article has shared the seven best courtroom films a person would watch and never get disappointed.

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