Prove apparenti

A newly elected district attorney (Andy Garcia) finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father (Ian Holm) and his partner.

This was a pretty good film. At first, I thought it was going to be about tracking down and then convicting the cop killer. But we find out that the killing, tracking and convicting are all accomplished relatively quickly, and only serve as a premise to open up the idea that certain police officers were working with the drug dealers.

This is very well scripted, very well acted. And knowing a little bit about police corruption, the story does not even seem far fetched. Though it does have its darkly comical moments, such as having the killer strip naked for reporters.

If you enjoy straight-up, old-style dirty cop/courtroom stories, this may be the last of the great ones, filmed in 1997. Sidney Lumet directs. There are some really fine, passionate scenes that make you care about the characters. Three-fourths of the plot is roughly predictable, but this movie has the glow of being a fine, original, boiler plate version for many cop stories to come. Moody jazz trumpet score, including songs by Wynton Marsalis. And wow, what a cast: Andy Garcia, Ian Holm, Lena Olin, Richard Dreyfuss, James Gandolfini, Dominic Chianese. What more can I say?

This movie introduces you to the complexities of the judicial system. It starts with the idealistic view. It leaves you to make the choice of what is right and what is wrong. You'll have to decide for yourself what is or would be justice. From the politics, the backroom deals and the downright corruption it's all there. It certainly isn't pretty because nobody's perfect. The acting is great but I've always felt Andy Garcia is a fine actor. The entire cast was well chosen and you feel their emotions and believe them as their character. The story moves along well and there are enough twists to keep you interested. This isn't a movie that leaves you cheering for more. It does however make you think about the complexities of justice. When your outside looking in things always look different than when you are inside looking out.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

I liked this film, this is not a great movie but it's a good one, and the most important thing was that it didn't bore me for a moment.

The performances are good, the plot is interesting and clever. What I didn't like about it was that the shots of the film looked like a movie made for TV.

The plot is about how Sean Casey ,an assistant district attorney working for just six months, improves very fast in his way up at his job but he is going to discover many dirty things about policemen and politics and is at this point where he will have to make difficult decisions that will put in text his principles.

If you like intelligent police or court movies, this one is for you.

This film is definitely based on the Larry Davis incident that took place in the late 80's where corrupt cops tried to shake down a drug dealer who wanted out of their "system"(dealers who payed off cops to rob other dealers). When he got out due to the death of his infant daughter, they invaded his home, he fought back by killing and wounding some officers and escaped leading to a dangerous manhunt in NYC. When they finally caught him (an old family relative snicthced on him), false accusations were brought up by the police and the media to portray him as a ruthless thug who ran away after killing the cops when all he wanted to do was leave the organization involving crooked cops and drug dealers. He is still serving time in Rikers Island fighting for a new trial.

Check out the documentary called THE LARRY DAVIS STORY which won an award for Best Documentary in the Urbanworld Film Festival in 2003.

However, it serves well on film and Sidney Lumet is great act capturing the look and feel of NYC in the early 90's. It has a "Prince of the City" feel to it.

NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN (1997) *** Andy Garcia, Richard Dreyfuss, Ian Holm, Lena Olin, James Gandolfini, Ron Leibman, Shiek Mahmud-Bey. Excellent, gritty and absorbing crime drama dealing with Garcia as an assistant DA who becomes an overnight sensation after tackling a disturbing case of a drug dealer killing three cops on a raid gone awry that leads to a sticky web of corruption, lies, deceit and ultimately personal integrity. Garcia and Holm as his cop father, give superb performances as does Leibman as his teeth gnashing mentor (a delightful to watch turn) and Gandolfini as Holm's partner with some skeletons in his closet. Based on Robert Daley's book `Tainted Evidence' and adapted by the film's director Sidney Lumet with colorful panache of a true helmsman. – Letterman stooge Leonard Tepper is an extra in the jury (!)