Heavens Fall

I wanted to see HEAVENS FALL since some years mostly because it stars Timothy Hutton (one day I hope to finish all his movies) and Leelee Sobieski (one of the actresses of which one day I'll watch all her movies because she has the reputation of a bad actress). Last June I finally saw it and I have to say it, it's one of the best movies accounting for both also for the subject.

The story is about the Scottsboro accident in 1931 when two white women (one played by Sobieski) accuse nine black youths of r**e in the South. One day defense attorney Samuel Leibowitz (Hutton) arrives and he will do his best for defending the nine black youths also with the help of William Lee (Anthony Mackie), and he'll succedd but not after lots of trials and tribulations in the real sense of the word.

The main reason for seeing this is the acting. While Hutton and Sobieski have reputations of having half of their filmographies full of badly rated titles, here they give some of their best performances and they both seemed very natural here. A pre-Marvel movies Mackie, David Strathairn and James Tolkan give just some of their many good performances. It's also a nice 'history lesson' about a lesser known fact, it gives the message of being against racism's prejudices and the ending is some sort of relief for the viewer.

If you stumble upon this movie on YouTube (it's available there) give it a try. Even tho you don't know the subject like me it's still worth a viewing for the aforementioned reasons.

Movies such as HEAVENS FALL are poignant reminders of the cruel history of this country that still makes us bow our heads in shame. The story by writer/director Terry Green is a sensitive recreation of the re-trial of an African American man (one of nine) condemned to death in Scottsboro, Alabama in 1931 for the supposed gang rape of two white women, a trial with an all-white seated jury who took only 20 minutes to deliberate and convict the young men. It is a study of racism in the South in the 1930s and while the viewer would hope that the ending is triumphant, the story quietly fades with a particle decency represented by a New York trial lawyer and a sympathetic judge who opened the door to the beginnings of seated African American jurists. It is powerful in content: it is magnificent movie making.

Samuel Leibowitz (Timothy Hutton) travels to Alabama form his offices in New York in 1933, to represent the nine condemned men after a Supreme Court ruling opened the door for a retrial. Leibowitz meets the prosecuting attorney Thomas Knight, Jr. (Bill Sage), more devoted to his potential career advancement than to his role as prosecutor, and the judge assigned to the case - James Horton (David Strathairn). Leibowitz interviews the nine condemned men and Haywood Patterson (B.J. Britt) is the first to be re-tried. Careful investigation uncovers the shaky case that convicted the men and Leibowitz, with the aid of the attorneys who pleaded the case before the Supreme Court, attempt to gain a racially mixed jury without success. Sent to cover the trial is a young reporter from Chicago (Anthony Mackie) who witnesses the racial hatred in the South first hand. His presence adds credibility to the proceedings. During the trial Leibowitz calls as witnesses the two women who made the false accusations - Victoria Price (LeeLee Sobieski) and Ruby Bates (Azura Skye) - and despite evidence clearing the nine men the trial ends in defeat. But that is only the beginning of a story that persists to this day. This is a true story about how racial hate tore the South apart in the 1930s, but it is also the story of how a few honest people tried to alter history.

The cast is uniformly excellent, with Strathairn, Hutton, Skye, and Sage giving potent performances. The climate of the times is well captured by the cinematography of Paul Sanchez, the costumes by Lisa Davis, the fine editing by Suzy Elmiger, and the simple but effective musical score by Tony Llorens. This is a film everyone should see, not only because of the need to re-examine this part of our history, but also because it is such a fine example of American cinema. Grady Harp

Not even 100 years ago, the south ... America wise and geography wise .. still had issues with colored people. It's not that nowadays everything is better ... and maybe a case like this would/could still happen ... but I'd like to believe that it is not as likely as it was back then.

Because it was "easy" to just claim a (or multiple) black people did something unlawful ... and everyone just took your word for it. No evidence nothing more needed. Well apart from the testimony ... well rather coerced guilty plea by those who were accused of doing something wrong. It is not a spoiler and it is not really something that should surprise you, that the crime they are accused of here, is something they did not commit.

Still it is about how the systems worked back then and what hoops one has to go through to get a somewhat fair trial ... not an easy watch, but very well acted by all involved ... with the addition of a young Anthony Mackie.

this film is awesome, the story is breathtaking, the actors wonderful. I saw it at the Midwest Screening and the theater was completely spellbound. It has the heart and soul of "To Kill a Mockingbird". The scenery is so beautiful and interesting. The storyline is inspiring. No wonder Timothy Hutton chose to take this role, his character is smart, courageous and in this current political climate he is a hero for us. The rest of the cast wonderful, realistic and also multidimensional. The historical representation is authentic and yet very creative. You leave the movie inspired. What more can you ask for? Thank you for making such a thoughtful and entertaining film!! I know it will go far.

I had the great pleasure of seeing the East Coast Premiere of "Heavens Fall" at the Stony Brook Film Festival, Long Island, NY on July 20, 2006.

Timothy Hutton gave a riveting performance as defense attorney Samuel Leibowitz. In my opinion it was his best since his equally fine portrayal of Archie Goodwin in "Nero Wolfe." Bill Sage as prosecuting attorney Thomas Knight, Jr. and David Strathairn as Judge Horton were also excellent in their roles. Bill Smitrovich as co-defense attorney, Maury Chaykin in a cameo role as a bigoted insurance salesman, Francie Swift as Leibowitz' wife, Belle, and James Tolkan as Thomas Knight, Sr. (four other "Nero Wolfe" actors) were exceptional, too, as was B.J. Britt, Haywood Patterson, in his film debut. LeeLee Sobieski and Azura Skye as Victoria Price and Ruby Bates were marvelous in their extremely difficult roles.

The score by Tony Llorens was haunting - a perfect accompaniment for the plot and the beautiful cinematography by Paul Sanchez.

This fine movie with its superb acting, splendid score, and beautiful cinematography had only been seen in the US by festival audiences, but it is now available to a broader audience. (US DVD release, November 6, 2007) The DVD includes two "behind the scenes" documentaries by Charley Rivkin with additional footage by Adam Witt. The first, "Creating The Fall," includes interviews with Terry Green, Timothy Hutton, Bill Sage, David Strathairn, Anthony Mackie, LeeLee Sobieski, and Azura Skye with their thoughts on the movie and the subject matter. The second, "Surviving The Fall," is about the difficulties the cast and crew endured and heroics they performed when Hurricane Ivan interrupted the filming of "Heavens Fall."