Mensonges et Faux Semblants

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")

Cate is an incredible fine lawyer with some serious problems with alcohol that is searching a way to recover the right to see her daughter. Since she was a fine lawyer before being alcoholic she accept a new case to defend an innocent girl that was wrongfully accused and in the process prove that she is fit to be a mother.

That's about the whole idea of the movie, but behind the seemingly obvious drama and court case movie there is a deep web of lies hence the title the movie gets in other countries.

For the most part, the movie plays Kate as Cate struggling to understand the rules of the system and her life and the movie plays for the majority of the time as a drama, but, there are some parts that plays with suspense and some later turnarounds.

The movie is not brilliant in the script department, you can actually guess the outcome of all, but being honest, it doesn't pretend to play as a suspense movie either.

All the court case parts, the innocent girl, the threats and the lies are just secondary plot ideas to picture what is really important here and that's the life of Cate.

This is a very fine movie in the drama department and one you should seriously consider if you're into this genre. The acting of Miss Kate Beckinsale and Nick Nolte are one of the best moments through the movie and proves that Kate is a very good actress.

I love court case movies and this one didn't disappoint and a movie about a flawed main protagonist path to redemption is always a topic i'm fond of.

An easy 6 out of 10

"Even when people say terrible things you can't go with the evidence, you gotta go with your heart." Cate Mccall (Beckinsale) is a lawyer…or at least she was. She has fallen on hard times and is trying to get her life back together. In order to be reinstated to the bar and get her kid back she must complete a 12 step program and work on the appeal of a woman who is in prison for murder. What starts off as an easy case becomes more and more difficult with everything she uncovers. I was looking forward to watching this because I really love courtroom dramas. That said I liked this even more than I was expecting to. This is a movie that entirely sucks you in right away and you become deeply involved in Cate's life. You pull for her to get her daughter back and are upset when she takes a step back. The court case is also unbelievably interesting and keeps the movie that much more interesting. This is the kind of movie that gets you thinking one way and at the last minute throws you a twist that makes you look back at everything you saw and wonder if you missed something. I don't want to give anything away but I will say that the movie is hard to predict, which is what makes it so good. If you liked …And Justice For All you will love this movie. Overall, every now and then you watch a movie that sticks with you and you want everyone you know to watch it so you can discuss it with them. This is that movie. I give this an A.

Once again Kate Beckinsale plays a solid, fully realized protagonist in yet another uneven but intriguing film. The Trials Of Cate McCall is an episodic courtroom drama in where the cases which defence attorney Beckinsale works kind of take a backseat to, and even reflect the issues she faces in her personal life. She's been disbarred from practising law some time ago, also losing the custody of her daughter. With the help of her ex lawyer father (a crusty, scene stealing Nick Nolte), she begins the long road to personal and professional redemption, starting with a tricky case involving the alleged violent sexual assault of a wayward girl (a deft, unsettling Ana Schafer). Sounds great, right? Unfortunately not. It's certainly interesting, but it squander valuable time on scenes which should be brisk and tightly wound, providing bloated segments where there could be high drama. When it's solid it's solid though, especially with Beckinsale's work. Supporting turns include James Cromwell as a not so honest judge, Clancy Brown as a stern D.A., Mark Pellegrino as a crass detective implicated in the heinous crime, and other work from Dale Dickey, Isiah Washington and Kathy Baker. Despite its inconsistencies, it manages to hold interest through selected performances that are marvellous, and some perfectly timed third act plot turns that sheds new light on everything that came before it. As far as courtroom flicks go, you can do both a lot better and a lot worse in checking this one out.

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.