The Whole Truth

This is a pretty good courtroom drama, maybe not right up there with "Anatomy of a Murder" or "Presumed Innocent", but with enough twists and turns to make it stand out from the crowd.

If the film reminds me of any it is "The Lincoln Lawyer" with Matthew McConaughey.

Without giving too much away, the story involves the murder of Boone Lassiter (John Belushi) a prominent lawyer, and the attempts of another lawyer, Richard Ramsay (Keanu Reeves), to defend the person accused of the murder, Boone's son, Mike Lassiter (Gabriel Basso).

The film has an interesting cast including Renée Zellweger as Loretta Lassiter, Boone's wife. Renée Zellweger is an amazing actress who dissolves into her characters, she does it so well here that I didn't recognise her at first.

Keanu Reeves is fine as Richard Ramsay. I thought his narration was a little heavy-handed at first, but later we see how it helps set the scene for the revelation at the end.

Beautiful Gugu Mbatha-Raw, so memorable in "Belle", is a surprise as a young lawyer overcoming past issues.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but after watching hundreds of crime movies and series on television, I feel that stories with a low murder count often have more weight than serial killer dramas with corpses all over the place. Just look at any of the really good series such as "Wallander", "Jesse Stone" or "Vera" to name three; it's usually only one murder, two at the most, allowing for more complex character and story development. Shows with big murder counts, unless based on real cases, often lead to over-the-top dramas with extreme, unbelievable behaviour.

"The Whole Truth" bears this out. It is tricky with an appealing cast and a classy score by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, which helps set the mood for this fairly intimate movie, set for the most part in either the courtroom or the bedroom where the murder took place.

It may not raise the bar to the heights of the great courtroom dramas, but "The Whole Truth" gets you in and keeps you there until it delivers a killer blow at the end.

The Whole Truth starring Keanu Reeves playing a defense attorney to a case of a teen accused of murdering his father. The case here works because Reeves character is portraying a defense attorney to a close friend of the son, and mother. Typically in courtroom dramas, there can be no close friend-type relationship.

The acting is very solid, and the film isn't too long which it doesn't drag on or become stale in several parts. It might have a slow build up but within each clue and piece of evidence, it pays off in the end.

The ending is offered in a slightly different tone, and may feature a unique twist (and I believe it works here). Looking back, now knowing the ending, there are several little clues along the way. here are some questionable motives of each characters, especially of the son Mike and his behaviour throughout (he is soft spoken and mostly mute throughout), but the answers come out in the end. Otherwise, the Whole Truth is a very solid and entertaining thriller. Worth the watch.

Jim Belushi and Keanu Reeves were both excellent in this film. Great story as well. Well worth the watch.

First of all, I have to say that I am glad I skimmed through some of the other user reviews. Those "thumbs up" reviews encouraged me to take a look at this film. That, and the fact that I always love seeing Keanu on the screen. I think "The Whole Truth" is an okay movie. Nothing special, but watchable.

Secondly, I want to say that whomever it was who composed the film score is responsible---- immensely so---- for distracting me from my complete enjoyment of the film. Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle go the piano keys. It got so annoying, at times all II could think about was "Who in the heck thought this constant 'drama' music was needed?"

What really got to me, though, was how I kept thinking the kid's Mom reminded me so much of Renee Zellweger. At one point I even asked myself, "Does this actress find it hard to get work simply because she is such a dopplegänger for Zellweger?"

Hahaha. The joke is on me. IT IS Renee! I swear I didn't know, until I looked at the cast and credits. My jaw hit the ground. Wow. Oh, Renee. You and Jennifer Grey. Why? WHY?

I'm glad I didn't know during the movie, as then I would have been too focused on why in the hell Renee would have something done which would so drastically alter her appearance. I liked her the way she was.

It's nice to see Keanu Reeves in a mature role. He's capable of great subtlety in his acting, and he does a great turn in this movie. Renee Zellweger, likewise. Gugu Mbatha-Raw was terrific, doing a lot with a not very sympathetic character. Actually, everybody did a good job, including Gabriel Basso. It's really Keanu Reeves' movie, though. It was kind of low-key, which I appreciated. I don't like court-room drama novels or movies, and was pleasantly surprised.