Emmett Laurent

Scene - obnoxiously attractive women throws herself on you every night, but the neighbor shut his blinds and went out three times in a night so it’ll have to wait

Really really good. Such a weird and interesting concept for a movie and I think it definitely could be off putting but I think what they were going for was accomplished. It feels weird to say it was a lot of fun, but it was. As you are meant to see the characters as both multifaceted and complex and to see their friends and self righteous pricks. Pattinson and Zendaya are really good in this and you really feel for both of them and much of the way they act feels so human.  The humor did really hit and I liked it but the theatre I was in was insufferably laughing out loud at everything.

Drama in the court room, drama in the mind and soul, drama in the societal norms. If you want an intense court room drama here you go. But it’s so much more than that, it’s a 3d character study, it’s an examination on the queasiness of the professional of Law. You are meant to question the motives, who’s right who’s wrong, you are meant to feel uneasy when they describe Laura and her “lose” appeal. Woven through a clean cut murder case are so many ideas of rape, Justice, law.  The film is built upon quick fast twitching litigation, ins and outs, feints and misdirects. Witness after witness comes to the stand and you can’t help but wonder how this can keep going, how possibly this could be rule in favor of Manny. But it does, it is an insanity ruling at the end. The whole time the movie drops tidbits of uncertainties. Did Laura get raped? Was Manny an abuser? Was Manny insane? Was evidence planted?  There are so many outstanding performances in this. James Stewart with an absolute masterclass as Paul Beilger. An out of shape former DA who takes this case because he’s broke. He is the antithesis of a lawyer, he never asks Manny the truth but he fights for his side because that is what you do in the law. You present the facts how they are and you let the court do the rest. But the problem is the courtroom is flawed, the jury is flawed, and the legal system is flawed. "How can a jury disregard what it's already heard?" to which Biegler replies, "They can't". I could slap so many lines into here but this one will do perfectly. The jury CANNOT forget a line of questioning and answers even if they are told to be thrown out.  There are ways to bob and weave around the courtroom and this is a sort of boxing match. No one will read this far so I’ll stop but please watch.