Synopsis:

An arrogant, high-powered attorney, Martin Vail (Richard Gere) takes on the case of a poor altar boy named Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton).  Found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who took him in, Vail has his hands full. The case gets a lot more complex when the accused reveals that there may or may not have been a "third person" in the room during the murder. The intensity builds when a surprise twist alters everyone's perception of the crime and what really happened...

The Freak's Rating: B+ : Courtroom dramas made me want to be a lawyer as a young man, much like the way that All the President's Men made most of the country long to be a reporter.  The intensity and dramatics of a courtroom were very appealing to me.  I wanted to be the lawyer who came up with the "Gotcha" moment that would spin the case around and shine innocence on the accused. 

Primal Fear has wonderful courtroom scenes between the defender (Gere) and the prosecutor (Laura Linney).  The real star of the film is Edward Norton.  Known as the film that launched his career, Primal Fear showcases Edward Norton's ability as an actor.  A couple years down the road American History X solidified his strengths as an actor, but Primal Fear is all his and the twist ending is beautifully done.

Jen's Rating: A : Loved this movie.  Wonderful twist, can't wait to see it again.  Edward Norton is an amazing actor!

Brian's Rating: B+ :

Following from Angie's recommendation, this movie was recently bumped to the top of our queue.  The comparison to "The Usual Suspects" was too intriguing to pass up.

I do not have much to add to Angie's synopsis.  The acting is great, the storyline is intriguing, and the characters immediately capture your attention, most significantly the lead roles played by Richard Gere and Ed Norton.  I also enjoyed the reveal in this movie.  It was setup very well, was not overplayed, and is successful in producing the "That's awesome!" reaction.

And now I torn.  There were a few things that bothered me about the ending but I do not want to talk about them due to spoiling the ending of a very good movie for anybody reading this.  So, avoiding the spoiler alert concept that is only halfway successful, I'll address one thing.  Through no fault of this movie, the plot line was completely ripped off and redone in a much worse style in one of the mass market crime drama shows on network television.  Because of this, I knew what was going on before I was supposed to.  This coupled with the association with a mediocre network crime drama did not do my perspective any favors.

That being said, I would give this a strong recommendation.  It was worth bumping up on the queue.

Angie's Rating: A+ : I was surfing through your list of movies and noticed this wasn't a part of it yet along with some of my other favorites, so I decided to send some new reviews.  First of all I am a little biased, Ed Norton is my all time favorite actor.  The acting, I think you'll agree is superb and the reveal is a cinematic classic.  This movie is what I always throw out there when people question my love of Edward Norton.  :)  This movie, I can say without hesitation that I will still watch anytime I know it will be on TV.  You should definitely add it to the list.   

Sebastian's Rating: A : Edward Norton has to be probably my most favourite actor of all time. He plays brilliant performances in some of the most brilliant films ever created, such as American History X, Fight club and The people vs Larry Flynt. His baby face and dark/christian side of him makes the perfect actor through my eyes. But what happens you go to his first film, the movie that made him famous... what happens when you go back to primal fear?

Richard gere isn't one of the best actors I've seen I will admit. Come to think of it, before this film the only interesting role of his was in movie Chicago. however, I can't critisize him considering the only other movie of his I've seen is runaway bride - a complete miss. Taking a look into his movie history through my eyes he's a bit of a ladies man. He tends to appear in romantic comedies, such as pretty woman and nights in rodanthe. I never took him as a serious actor, and if my mother rented out a movie with Richard Gere in it, I would have declined watching it.

The movie starts of instantly, with the death of an arch bishop and a runaway suspect. Alternatively you straight away suspect that the sweet faced alter boy is the victim. Drenched in blood, Aaron (the suspect) claims he's innocent. No one in town would even bother defending him because the evidence is so strong against him; All but one.

Martin only defends his client to take vengance against his ex lover. It's all a game of fame, with Martin stopping at no cost to try and prove Aarons "innocence." Except, the plot seems to turn at every corner, until it goes all around the block and smacks you in the face. It's such a delight to see the on-screen fueds between every character. It makes you think one alternative solution while the real story is backed up by another little twist. Every scene is essential right till the very end, where it grabs you so hard and makes you just laugh at how brilliant the film really is.

This is all because of Edward Norton's performance. Richard Gere does an exceptional performance but by the end of the day the real winner is the man himself. Edward Norton's acting plays off so well when coming to split personalities. It isn't hard to believe that it's the guy that does fight club a few years later on, because when it comes to being mean and lean, Norton plays it off well. What's so special about his acting? It's the stuttering, the innocence in his eyes, and the parts where it all gets turned around into a cold hearted villan. It really is very enjoyable throughout the entire 2 hours running time.

Primal Fear gets the certifide A from me, It is backed up by a brilliant script and a brilliant cast. The only thing dropping it from an A+ is being a mystery itself. It's not the same as watching it the first time, but after watching it the first time, you are eager to watch it again straight afterwards.

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