Jugez-moi coupable

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.

I went to a preview screening of this film, so the version I saw may not make it onto the screen. I was pretty hesitant when I heard that Mr. Diesel was in it. I have to report that he did justice to the role. OK, he was no young Al Pacino, but he was certainly better than the old Al Pacino would be in the role. And Pacino has to be the patron saint of the film. His performance could have been loud, it could have been slick, instead he adds surprising depth to an essentially obnoxious character.

The story isn't surprising, but it does carry a bit of a cultural wallop, and Deisel, using dialog drawn from actual courtroom testimony is able to convey a real sense of outrage over being societal discrimination. It is a testimony to Lumet's direction, that the film never veers into the didactic or preachy.

The real surprise to me was Annabella Sciorra. The print I saw had no credits, so I wasn't expecting her and it took me a bit to place her face. She was electrifying. She truly lit up the screen in her 5 minutes. In an extended dialog with Diesel as her husband, she goes from dispassion, to jealousy, to outrage, to sexual hunger in the most nuanced and natural performance I have seen in a long while. Sciorra is a major talent and needs to get some larger roles, maybe even a few where she isn't the Wife/Fiancée of a N.J. mobster.

The movie had a really great script; it was funny, dramatic and touching. I was really surprised by Vin Diesel's performance, I wasn't expecting him to pull it off. I think Jackie D himself, his personality and his words helped Vin a lot there. I was also impressed by Raúl Esparza as Tony. I've seen him on Broadway and I have been wowed by his stage performances. I wasn't sure if he could make the transition, but he was the perfect paranoid junkie. The only problems I had with the movie are with tiny details like extras dressed in 2006 fashions and flat screen monitors on desks. Knowing that the trial began in the early 90's, it caught my attention and stuff like the computer monitors shouldn't grab attention. Overall, "Find Me Guilty" is a great movie, and I highly recommend it.

I went to a screening in NYC this week, and Vin's performance knocked the socks off of everyone in attendance.

The physical transformation was astonishing. He gained a lot of weight for this role, and many of the people around me (myself included) did not recognize him when he first appeared on screen. While watching the film, I totally forgot that I was watching Vin Diesel. He really became the character for me.

Annabella Sciorra is another actor I will never look at the same way again. She had exactly one scene in the movie and I thought the screen was going to burst into flames or something. It was really that hot. She and Vin barely touched each other ... didn't even so much as kiss ... and I swear the entire audience needed a cigarette afterward.

The entire cast was first-rate. Every single one of them hit the ball out of the park, no exceptions.

The 2+ hours of running time went by like 15 minutes, and I sincerely did not want the movie to end.

There was a Q&A session after the screening, and Vin was humble, funny, personable and sometimes boyish in his interactions with the audience.

I wasn't a big Vin fan before this movie, but now I can't wait to see him in Hannibal. This guy isn't just an action star ... he's a very talented, dedicated and capable actor.

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.