Primal Fear (film)

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Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox film

Primal Fear is a 1996 American crime legal drama mystery thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit, based on the 1993 novel of the same name by William Diehl, written by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman. It stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard, Frances McDormand, and Edward Norton in his film debut. The film follows a Chicago-based defense attorney who believes that his client, an altar boy, is not guilty of murdering a Catholic bishop.

The film was a box office success and received positive reviews, with Norton's performance earning critical praise. Norton won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Plot

Martin Vail is an arrogant Chicago defense attorney, known for defending undesirable but high-profile clients, including doctor (and alleged mob boss) Joey Piñero. Vail was previously a state prosecuting attorney, but after finding it to be a dead-end career, he became a defense attorney. Fond of the spotlight, Vail is profiled for a magazine cover story, then attempts to rekindle a casual relationship with a former colleague, prosecutor Janet Venable. Publicly beloved Archbishop Rushman is found murdered and mutilated in his bedroom. Aaron Stampler, a 19-year-old altar boy from Kentucky, is caught fleeing the scene covered in blood and subsequently charged with murder. Vail offers to defend him Template:Lang.

The meek, stuttering Aaron claims to be innocent, but is prone to amnesia and unable to remember what happened about the murder. He claims a third person was in the room. Vail believes Aaron, while the state's attorney, John Shaughnessy, assigns Venable to prosecute the case and pursue the death penalty. At Aaron's apartment, Vail's investigator Tommy Goodman is attacked by another altar boy, Alex, who flees. Neuropsychologist Dr. Molly Arrington interviews Aaron about his difficult childhood, his memory lapses, and his missing girlfriend, Linda.

With help from Piñero, Vail discovers that powerful civic leaders, including Shaughnessy, lost millions in real estate investments due to Rushman's decision not to develop church-owned land, which includes a Template:Lang clinic owned and operated by Piñero. A passage linked to The Scarlet Letter was carved into Rushman's chest, which the police interpret as the murder motive and denouncing the archbishop as "two-faced". Vail and Goodman find Alex, who claims he was searching for an incriminating VHS cassette in Aaron's apartment. Removing the tape from the archbishop's closet at the crime scene, thus not properly entering it into the chain of custody, Vail and his team discover multiple footage filmed by the archbishop in which he coerces Aaron, Linda, and Alex to engage in sexual acts. Vail and his team assume that Rushman threatened the youths with eviction from their group home, providing a motive for Aaron to murder Rushman.

Vail angrily confronts Aaron about concealing information, but he denies the accusations, becoming increasingly distressed as he continues to press him. Aaron's demeanor abruptly shifts from deferential to aggressive, and he chastises Vail for "scaring off" Aaron. This violent personality, calling himself Roy, admits to killing the archbishop but threatens Vail not to introduce the tape at trial. Suddenly, he reverts to Aaron's docile personality, with no recollection of the episode. Dr. Arrington concludes that Aaron has dissociative identity disorder caused by years of abuse by both his father and, later, Rushman. Vail grows conflicted, knowing that he could acquit his client via an insanity defense, but he cannot legally change his strategy mid-trial.

Vail delivers the evidence anonymously to Venable, forcing her to use the tape as proof of Aaron's motive, at the risk of tarnishing the archbishop and generating sympathy for Aaron. Shaughnessy demands that she destroy the evidence, but she refuses and introduces it in court. Piñero is discovered murdered, and Vail surprises the court by calling Shaughnessy as a witness. Vail suggests he resented the archbishop for stopping the $60 million land development deal, and accuses him of concealing previous evidence of the archbishop's sexual predation, and being complicit in Piñero's death.

The judge intervenes and fines Vail for using the courtroom for his personal vendettas. She also dismisses Dr. Arrington's testimony as it leans too close to an insanity plea. Vail calls Aaron to the stand, intentionally triggering him to become Roy, who screams obscenities and assaults Venable. The judge dismisses the jury in favor of a bench trial to declare Aaron not guilty by reason of insanity. Vail informs Aaron that he will be remanded to a psychiatric hospital for treatment and likely released. When Aaron expresses remorse for injuring Venable's neck, Vail realizes Aaron was aware of his actions during the attack. Aaron commends the attorney for his insight; he brags he murdered Linda and Rushman without remorse and faked having multiple personalities. He reveals there was never an "Aaron". Vail leaves the courthouse through a back door, stunned and disillusioned.

Cast

Template:Cast listing

Several Chicago television news personalities made cameos as themselves as they deliver reports about the case, including WLS's Diann Burns and Linda Yu, WBBM-TV's Mary Ann Childers, Lester Holt and Jon Duncanson, and WGN-TV's Bob Jordan and Randy Salerno.

Production

Paramount wanted Leonardo DiCaprio as Aaron Stampler; he was offered the role but declined as he found the script "problematic".<ref name="yahoo.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref> Casting calls were set in California and England where 2,100 actors were seen for the role of Aaron, including Matt Damon, James Van Der Beek, and Pedro Pascal.<ref name="auto"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Connie Britton declined the role of Naomi, which went to Maura Tierney.<ref name="yahoo.com"/> Primal Fear was filmed in several locations, including Chicago, Illinois, Keystone, West Virginia, and Los Angeles, California. The movie also used Paramount Studios in Hollywood for some scenes. Filming took place between April 28, 1995, and July 12, 1995.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes the Portuguese fado song "Canção do Mar" sung by Dulce Pontes.

Release

Box office

The film was released on April 5, 1996, and opened in the #1 spot, remaining there for three consecutive weeks.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="mojo" /> It grossed $56.1 million domestically and $46.5 million internationally for a total worldwide gross of $102.6 million.<ref name="mojo" />

Home media

The film was released to VHS and LaserDisc on October 15, 1996.<ref>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> On October 21, 1998, it was released to DVD.<ref name="AllMovie">Template:Cite web</ref>

Paramount released Primal Fear on Blu-ray on March 10, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The Blu-ray includes an audio commentary track by director Gregory Hoblit, writer Ann Biderman, producer Gary Lucchesi, executive producer Hawk Koch, and casting director Deborah Aquila, as well as the featurettes "Primal Fear: The Final Verdict", "Primal Fear: Star Witness-Casting Edward Norton", and "The Psychology of Guilt".

Reception

Portrait of a young Edward Norton smiling
Edward Norton's debut performance received critical acclaim, earning him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture, in addition to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports an approval rating of 77% based on 48 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "Primal Fear is a straightforward, yet entertaining thriller elevated by a crackerjack performance from Edward Norton".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, lists the film with a weighted average score of 47/100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore awarded the film an average grade of B+ on an A+-to-F scale.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote that the film has a "good deal of surface charm" but "the story relies on an overload of tangential subplots to keep it looking busy".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times awarded Primal Fear three and a half stars, writing that "the plot is as good as crime procedurals get, but the movie is really better than its plot because of the three-dimensional characters". Ebert described Gere's performance as one of the best in his career, praised Linney for rising above what might have been a stock character and applauded Norton for offering a "completely convincing" portrayal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Anchor The film spent three weekends at the top of the U.S. box office.<ref name="mojo" />

Accolades

Award Category Nominee(s) Result Template:Abbreviation
20/20 Awards Best Supporting Actor Edward Norton Template:Nom
Academy Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Nom <ref name="Oscars1997">Template:Cite news</ref>
ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards Top Box Office Films James Newton Howard Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Edward Norton Template:Runner-up
Honorable Mentions Gregory Hoblit Template:Nom
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Edward Norton Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
British Academy Film Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Casting Society of America Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama Deborah Aquila and Jane Shannon-Smith Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Edward Norton Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Most Promising Actor Template:Won
Critics Choice Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
MTV Movie Awards Best Villain Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
National Society of Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Draw <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Satellite Awards Best DVD Extras Primal Fear – Hard Evidence Edition Template:Nom <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Saturn Awards Best Supporting Actor Edward Norton Template:Nom
Society of Texas Film Critics Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Supporting Actor Template:Won <ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

Legacy

The first half of the 2002 India Hindi film Deewangee is inspired from Primal Fear<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The 2021 Indian Hindi-language legal thriller drama film, Nail Polish, is also similarly inspired by this movie.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

See also

References

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