“If he's allowed to go free, then something really wrong is goin' on here!”
A brutally honest but very real film.
While it is quite clear where the film's critique lies on a systemic level, and is nonetheless a worthy one, relating to how this entity of the law is an inhuman and abstracted corrupted thing characterized by those who wish to profit and those who fail to see the reason to challenge the status quo. The strength of the film is within how human it is. Jewison is unapologetic in his placement of people and their humanity above any socially constructed rules. We are asked to think on whether the law has this value we place on it, or at least if this corrupted endpoint of it, and if it is something we can attempt to incrementally improve and generally subscribe to.
Especially for its time, this film manages to be aware of what it's telling. Dynamics of race and gender are in place. This thing, the law, which we are supposed to assume is blind and unbiased, quite clearly adheres itself to certain biases involving race and gender. These identity concepts deeply affect individuals within the film and we are to wonder if this constructed law really offers any form of justice whatsoever for those who do not find themselves represented within it.
The shortcomings of the law within this film, seem to be exacerbated by the worst of our human traits. Influenced by what is rewarded, our judges are cynical, selfish, hedonistic and generally just terrible people. As well as the other lawyers who surround Arthur, who refuse to resist these old judges at all and are rather guided by greed and this general theme of how such practitioners become detached from the people they represent as this is what is asked of them by the law.
Amongst this, Arthur finds himself as a deeply sensitive and compassionate person and frankly, a bad lawyer. He becomes emotionally involved in all of his cases and is constantly frustrated as everything seems to be against this genuine perspective. Most importantly, Arthur sees his “clients” not as clients but as people. He sees their vulnerabilities and who they really are, and he respects them continually, ensuring they are comfortable around him and that they continue to have some form of hope. Sadly, however, the entity of the law is not sensitive and compassionate, and has no care for the personal struggles one may be going through, and the only way it is human is in how it acts in inhuman ways, reinforcing terribly destructive ways of life.
Al Pacino only furthers the emotional impact of this film, as his performance is one of the best I have ever seen. The parking garage scene and the end court scene will stick with me forever.
“They're people, Warren. They're all - they're people. They're just people.”
4.85/5
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