Cate McCall - Il confine della verità

This is going to be one of those unfairly underrated movies. It is not a block-buster, not a mystery-driven court-drama, but a movie about life. Kate Beckinsale is more than beautiful. Don't expect her as being the acrobatic vampire Selene, or Anna Valerious, as she is not fighting Transylvanian monsters either. Nor she is a classic beauty in Pearl Harbor, or the serendipity wonder in New York's Christmas. Here, she is a divorced mother, fighting to gain a new sense of professional/personal life. And she is convincing. And a good lawyer, having to make some (difficult) morals choices. And she is convincing (did I say that already?). The movie itself has value exactly on focusing on realistic dramas. It's not about thrilling suspense of some twisting court plot. It's not about a drama of divorced parents. It tells a story that might happen. On the other hand, Nick Nolte lost some of his aesthetics. He didn't act with passion. Sometimes I felt he was just reciting his script lines. As for the movie, I had only one problem. Somehow, it did not suit them (Beckinsale, Nolte, Pellegino) to have that over-dirty language. I'm no hypocrite, I don't blush for the sake of conservative purity, but here, the bad language was overused. My personal opinion is that cinematography should pass the Samuel L. Jackson's characters' language stage. A nice and long expected surprise! Chapeau!

Kate is playing her character really great. And even Nick Nolte has more than one moment to shine (you feel the gravitas he's bringing to the movie). Other than that, the movie/plot may be predictable for some (maybe many), but it's the way it's played out that really works. Be it the characters with all their flaws and the story with its turns every now and again.

Being a lawyer can be pretending, it's also about winning, no matter what. If you backtrack on that, what would that mean. The justice system is not perfect and everything else might not matter anymore. Like personal life. The drama outside the courtroom is as suspenseful as the one unfolding inside of it.

I think nowadays there's a shortage of these kind of movies, the last good one was The Lincoln Lawyer (which is quite similar to this one). It's the same recipe again: let's add a little personal drama (Cate could lose her daughter due to her alcoholism), an almost impossible case (female murderer from death row appeals, and Cate gets to defend her), an old case, where the character made the wrong decision, and the courtroom drama is ready.

But I think, this movie is using these "clichés" very well to create a good story. The main character has motivations, inner conflicts, and these are very well correlating with the main storyline and the whole message of the story. It's not something I should praise, but frankly, most movies are lacking this.

Anyway, the courtroom case is interesting, both the mood and the pace of the movie are satisfying, so I think it's quite enjoyable and also makes you think. And last, but not least, Kate Beckinsale convinced me, that she's not a bad actress, she just needs a good character to play.

If you liked Fracture or The Lincoln Lawyer, this one is for you.

In California, Cate McCall (Kate Beckinsale) is an alcoholic lawyer that was put on probation and rehab. She had an argument with a judge that sent her to the Breathalyzer test and the bar put her on probation in a small office. Cate is also fighting to recover custody of her daughter that lives with her father that is moving to Seattle.

Cate is assigned to defend Lacey Stubbs (Anna Anissimova) who has appealed claiming that she had been wrongly accused of murdering another woman since there was a trial error. Further, Lacey also tells that she was raped by a guard in the prison. Cate, who has never lost a case, investigates the case with his friend Bridges (Nick Nolte) and they find evidences that might prove that Lacey is innocent and her case is fabricated. But is she really not guilty?

Movies related to lawyers and court rooms are usually engaging and "The Trials of Cate McCall" is no exception, with a good story of manipulation and second chance in life with many twists. Once again Kate Beckinsale proves that is not only gorgeous, but also a great actress with a wonderful performance. The plot and characters are well developed and the plot point surprises. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Teia de Mentiras" ("Web of Lies")

This film had some potential, but a lack of decent characters other than our heroine hampers its dramatic development.

Kate Beckinsale plays the title role in The Trials Of Cate McCall and she's an alcoholic lawyer whose main confidante is her AA sponsor Nick Nolte who looks like a hippie refugee from the Sixties. She's on a kind of probation from the bar association and gets assigned a real dog of a case from Anna Annissimova who's in jail for a brutal murder with lesbian overtones.

Wouldn't you know it Beckinsale becomes a true believer and uncovers enough procedural errors in front of Judge James Cromwell an old law professor of her's to get the verdict set aside. The cops don't take it well and she's put through quite a ringer. Beckinsale is also having custodial issues with her ex-husband.

Beckinsale's comeback is assured, but the film is far from over.

I think with a bit better writing this could have been a major triumph. Beckinsale's character was too self indulgent and inclined to spend a lot of time on the pity pot. Nolte was interesting however, his character obviously based on William Kunstler.

Passable drama, but nothing more.