Anatomy of a Murder
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
After "Twelve Angry Men", "To Kill a Mocking Bird" this is one of the best legal-trial movies I have watched so far.
In a small town, an army veteran kills a bar-owner after learning that the bar-owner raped his flirtatious wife. The case goes to trial and the defense plea is temporary insanity. Will he get away with his crime? Thats what the story is all about.
The characters are all very believable, and most of all, the judge (lawyer, in real life) was true to his character without any dramatization that we see in usual court room movies. Infact, his act was very funny in a lot of places, and carried lots of humor as one would find in real life.
Was the rape victim to be blamed for the rape? Was she "asking for it" ? That was touched upon in the case (how tragic that 50 years later, we keep hearing these arguments in India still now!) among other court room ethical dilemmas, and judicial uncertainties. The movie has a cynical approach and ends on that note. This is not a movie to provide answers, but to provoke the audience to ponder deep into the moral uncertainties that we live with. Would be interesting to followup and discuss with friends, if you are from the legal profession, or if you have a philosophical background/interest.
Labels: movie_review
posted by Jey @ 7:16 PM,
