Toute la vérité

This is a pretty good courtroom drama, maybe not right up there with "Anatomy of a Murder" or "Presumed Innocent", but with enough twists and turns to make it stand out from the crowd.

If the film reminds me of any it is "The Lincoln Lawyer" with Matthew McConaughey.

Without giving too much away, the story involves the murder of Boone Lassiter (John Belushi) a prominent lawyer, and the attempts of another lawyer, Richard Ramsay (Keanu Reeves), to defend the person accused of the murder, Boone's son, Mike Lassiter (Gabriel Basso).

The film has an interesting cast including Renée Zellweger as Loretta Lassiter, Boone's wife. Renée Zellweger is an amazing actress who dissolves into her characters, she does it so well here that I didn't recognise her at first.

Keanu Reeves is fine as Richard Ramsay. I thought his narration was a little heavy-handed at first, but later we see how it helps set the scene for the revelation at the end.

Beautiful Gugu Mbatha-Raw, so memorable in "Belle", is a surprise as a young lawyer overcoming past issues.

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but after watching hundreds of crime movies and series on television, I feel that stories with a low murder count often have more weight than serial killer dramas with corpses all over the place. Just look at any of the really good series such as "Wallander", "Jesse Stone" or "Vera" to name three; it's usually only one murder, two at the most, allowing for more complex character and story development. Shows with big murder counts, unless based on real cases, often lead to over-the-top dramas with extreme, unbelievable behaviour.

"The Whole Truth" bears this out. It is tricky with an appealing cast and a classy score by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine, which helps set the mood for this fairly intimate movie, set for the most part in either the courtroom or the bedroom where the murder took place.

It may not raise the bar to the heights of the great courtroom dramas, but "The Whole Truth" gets you in and keeps you there until it delivers a killer blow at the end.

It's nice to see Keanu Reeves in a mature role. He's capable of great subtlety in his acting, and he does a great turn in this movie. Renee Zellweger, likewise. Gugu Mbatha-Raw was terrific, doing a lot with a not very sympathetic character. Actually, everybody did a good job, including Gabriel Basso. It's really Keanu Reeves' movie, though. It was kind of low-key, which I appreciated. I don't like court-room drama novels or movies, and was pleasantly surprised.

Jim Belushi and Keanu Reeves were both excellent in this film. Great story as well. Well worth the watch.

There's nothing like a good courtroom thriller. The thing I love about them is that everything can't possible be as it seems, because otherwise there would be no point in making the movie. There's nothing at all interesting about a straightforward court case, however one with a twist is a thing to behold. The only problem with this is that a lot of them end up getting rated purely on the strength of their twist. Everything that has happened up until that point can tend to be forgotten. That's sort of the case again here. A solid, but not stunning movie comes alive with a very strong ending, and it certainly adds some plus points to the final opinion of the film.

I tend to really like Keanu Reeves thrillers. A lot of his dramas and sci-fi films are completely forgettable, but when he signs on to a thriller it often seems to turn out very good. Renee Zellweger on the other hand is far from a personal favourite of mine. She has a serious lack of charisma and her appearance change is very distracting in this film. I feel like there are a lot of actresses who could have done a better job in this role.

'The Whole Truth' is a film that is entertaining throughout, partly because you are almost certain there is a twist coming, and partly because the story is well written and movies at a good pace. Then at the end it goes Bang! I really enjoyed this film and I think any thriller lovers out there will have a good time with it too.

Ramsey (Keanu Reeves) defends his teen age client, Mike (Gabriel Basso), who is accused of killing his father Boone Lassiter (Jim Belushi). The problem is that Mike has confessed to killing his father, but won't confide in his lawyer. Oh, oh, this can't be good.

This one will keep you guessing trying to figure out who is lying and Ramsey believes everyone lies. He takes on Janelle (Gugu Mbatha- Raw) a lawyer who is known for her bullshit monitor – she can tell who is lying. So we go round and round trying to figure this all out. Is Mike, the son, protecting his mother Loretta (Rene Zellweger) or is she protecting him? Or is it something else? Inquiring minds want to know.

It's really good courtroom drama, but we just cannot come to a conclusion. Can you?.

Near the end Janelle comes to a conclusion. Will your conclusion be the same or is she wrong? Hmmm……… There is good suspense and the acting is very good all around. Will your conclusion change when Mike does take the stand and talks? Hmmm……...

Is there a twist you ask? Of course there is and it will shock you.

There is suspense, but no real tension. But wait, wait, that tension comes at the very last scene, but then everything fades to black. Sorry. It's over. But now you know. ('bout time) (7/10)

Violence: Yes. Sex: Kind of as seen from a distance by a neighbor. Nudity: No. Language: No.