Jugez-moi coupable

I had the chance to see the movie at the Berlin Film Festival (actually I saw it twice), and I must say I really loved it. Even during the second screening I still thought it was interesting and funny.

Granted, I like both Sidney Lumet and Vin Diesel so I may be a bit biased, but the audience in the cinema seemed to like the movie too, because after both screenings they applauded.

The movie is a courtroom drama based on real events. The film depicts the longest Mafia trial in NYC history, and most of the dialog is taken from the original records of the trial. In 1987-88, some 20 members of the Lucchese crime family, each with his own lawyer, were indicted on some 76 charges ranging from criminal conspiracy to narcotics trafficking. The trial went on for 21 months.

The film focuses on Jack DiNorscio, one of the accused mobsters (played by Vin Diesel), who decides to defend himself. Even though he spent half his life in jail he doesn't know much about legal proceedings and mostly speaks what comes into his mind thus sometimes making fun of the whole trial.

Actually I was quite skeptical if Diesel could pull it off. C'mon, we all know him from some more or less mediocre action movies, so when I heard he was cast in a Sidney Lumet movie, I was quite surprised, and therefore even more eager to see him in this film. And yes, he is good. He gained some weight for this role and has hair (a wig), so he looks quite different from what you're used to.

During the Berlinale press conference Sidney Lumet said about Vin Diesel: "People make the great mistake with action heroes. They think that because generally the plots are simpler and their behavior is one-note that they can't act. But most of the time they can." And Diesel shows that he can act. With his charismatic persona he manages to carry the movie pretty easily. He has to talk a lot during the film which comes across very believable and authentic, and he shows a wide range of emotions from happiness to anger to mourning to being embarrassed to whatever.

The overall acting is really good, Linus Roache shines in his role as prosecutor Kierney. Contrary to his "Necromonger" role in "The Chronicles of Riddick" he gets a chance here to really show his talent. The other supporting cast is also really fantastic. I'd like to point out Peter Dinklage as lead defense attorney Ben Klandis, and Annabella Sciorra ("The Sopranos") who is really great in her single scene as DiNorscio's ex-wife. In this scene she goes through all the emotions from anger to frustration to jealousy. The other supporting cast consists of New York theater talent, as well as faces familiar to anyone who watches crime shows on the tube.

The film itself takes place almost entirely in the court room, and sometimes it drags a bit although it is not boring. It depends solely on talking, there is no action whatsoever in the movie. As DiNorscio joked around quite a bit during the trial, the film too is pretty funny in parts, and the audience in the cinema laughed quite a bit.

All in all I recommend this movie. But I have to warn the action fans: you might not like this film as it is a total change in comparison to the movies Vin Diesel has done until now.

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.

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 have never particularly cared one way or the other about Vin Diesel as an actor. I never loved nor hated him and his work. However, after seeing "Find Me Guilty" I found myself really respecting him and his craft. He and this film were very compelling.

The story is about the life and trial of Jackie DiNorscio, a lower level mobster who was prosecuted along with a huge group of other co-conspirators in what turned out to be the longest trial in US history...nearly two years long!! And, during he course of this trial based on the RICO statute, each defendant ended up having their own lawyers...except for DiNorscio...who, insanely, decided to defend himself! What?! Some seemingly dim New Jersey mobster defending himself?!

The film amazed me because although I don't like mobster films at all, I was mesmerized by the story...mostly because it's supposedly true. And, oddly, Diesel made you almost like the guy...almost. His performance was very compelling...and well worth seeing.

By the way, if you are concerned about adult content, there is a lot of very harsh language but not much else. Very little violence, no nudity and only a bit that might make parents feel uncomfortable about letting their kids or mother watch the movie. Interesting from start to finish and never dull.

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.