Find Me Guilty

I'm sure most of the comments about this movie will center around Diesel's amazing performance, but I'd like to focus on the overall quality of this film. From the time the movie gets to the courtroom, the true beauty of this film shines. Every character from the judge to the prosecutors were all well casted and their roles well defined and executed.

My one concern is why is it I always leave movies with organized crime themes rooting for or embracing the criminals. Their life style certainly is not most people would wish to emulate but yet most films which portray them don't manage to tap into the conscious citizen in all of us, somehow the writers and producers undermine your sense of right and wrong and render you powerless to pass negative judgement on the criminal.

With that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and welcome feedback on my commetns regarding my rant.

I just saw this last night in Seattle. What drew me in was Sidney Lumet and when it started saying that all courtroom dialog was direct from transcripts of this trial, I sat forward.

This turns out to be a classic New York Lumet film with all the trimmings. Vin does some of his best work to date (and I actually like some of his other films. This is not the all in the head of the writer trick - the transcript is the real heart of the film and so the key is truly bring to life the real words. That's not a simple thing. Lumet has the right balance to make it all work.

For those that would ignore or wait for the DVD, take a chance and see with an audience. You do not get this kind of film from a great director of Lumet's caliber every day.

It's amazing to see certain actors working with a director like the veteran Sidney Lumet (if it's appropriate to use for him who knows, though this is his latest film, at 81, over a near 50 year career), and see really intriguing, special things happening on screen. Actors like Pacino, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and Peter Finch among many others undoubtedly have other noteworthy performances in other films, but in the work they've done with Lumet there's something that connects just right, to get that full touch reaching into the character and pulling out the humanity, or lack thereof. Vin Diesel, in this case, has possibly his most convincing and on-spot performance to date and, with the exception of his supporting role in Boiler Room, goes beyond the typically macho-roles of his career in the past several years. He is a tough guy in this, true, and Jackie DiNorscio has the life of a criminal to him. But in the story presented in the film, of this man defending himself in the longest trial in American history, it's essential that the actor playing him gets it right with the emotional connections of the character, of being truthful. Diesel gets that right, in a performance that has that gangster quality (err, 'gagster' as DiNorsci refers himself as), but is also has a certain fascinating complexity that the character of, for example, the prosecuting attorney, could never have.

Still, Lumet captures this ensemble with enough nuance and well-spun, real dialog, for two movies. It's not at all strange to see him doing a courtroom drama, as it reaches back to his first film 12 Angry Men. This time however there is a difference in the focus on a story lasting three years, and the evidence in the sprawling, elephantine case against the crime families is not as crucial for getting involved in the film as the people who make up the case and courtroom. There are at least a few character actors providing some terrific work, like Ron Silver as the judge, or Peter Dinklage as one of the defense attorneys. And while amid a scene or shot here and there that could've been lost or put on the cutting room floor (it's hard to pinpoint which after a first viewing without notes), there are at least a few that do provide some extra interest that most other filmmakers would've lost. The detail of the one mobster who becomes ill and has to come in every day to court on a stretcher is one thing. Or the detail of the importance of a chair in Jackie's prison cell.

And in this mix there are a few scenes that rank up with being some of the more dramatically perfect scenes Lumet has done, chiefly by letting the actors- who have inhabited the roles to the point of doubtless believability- just do their work. Two that come to mind are when the judge informs Jackie about the death of his mother, and how what Diesel doesn't show to the audience is even more important than what is (I'm reminded of the scene towards the end of Serpico where he gets the badge). Another is when Jackie is questioning his cousin on the stand. The filming of this scene isn't all that complex, but the dynamic between the two characters is, and the right notes are just there between the two actors. By the end of Find Me Guilty, I didn't think I saw an outright masterpiece like some of the director's other films. Neverhtheless, I also knew that I had seen an extremely confident and very good piece of work that brings out what's dependable in Lumet and what's unexpected in an actor like Diesel. Not to mention that, here and there, the film is quite funny. 8.5/10

I had the opportunity to see this movie at the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood last week along with a Q&A with Vin afterward. I have to say I didn't know what to expect after seeing his regular action roles, but I was very impressed. His acting skills have stepped up to the next challenge. Once I got the vision of sexy action star out of my head I was able to concentrate on the character at hand and by the end of the movie I was almost expecting the character to walk in instead of Vin Diesel! I rated this movie a 9 only because it had way more obscene language fillers than it needed. It's a mafia movie we get it. I just don't care to have so much cursing in a movie I think it takes away from the content. Also as a side note I was impressed with the Q&A after, no one can say that Vin is a muscle head. He is an articulate and passionate actor, as well as very humble. I was sitting about three feet from him during the interview and could see his hand twitching nervously as he addressed the small group of actors there. He most certainly has high marks in my book.

Great performance by Vin Diesel in here. I always just thought of him as an actor who did not have the ability to take on a non-action leading role. Wow did he prove me wrong here. Find Me Guilty was really a revelation in itself and for Diesel.

The acting like I just said was great from Vin Diesel. Diesel has shown in the past some great supporting performances. With this movie he clearly showed that he can give a real acting performance. The way he displayed his character as a loud mouth, slick talking mafia man was just so genuine and real. He made me laugh every five minutes and still was able to draw me into the movie as a serious character. The supporting performances were nice here to from Peter Dinklage and Alex Rocco.

The directing was very good if not great as well. When it comes to any film involving court Sidney Lumet is the man who should direct it. This is the man who directed 12 Angry Men and The Verdict which are probably the two of the top five court movies ever. This time though he is able to perfectly balance the comedy and drama of this movie to make this film very engaging and exciting to watch. Sidney Lumet once again proves to me at least why he is one of the most creative and best movie directors ever.

The writing was perfect for this movie. In a way the movie was making fun of itself which is always nice to see in these type of comedies. Together with Diesel the writing made for some many laugh-out-loud scenes. Sidney Lumet with his directing and writing really is able to show that a real-life courtroom drama can realistically funny too.

My advice is to definitely watch this movie if you have not. It is not a superficial meaningless movie and believe it or not is a little inspiring. Creativity in movies at its best.