MOVIE · 1996

Primal Fear

CrimeDramaMysteryThriller131 min

Chicago defense attorney Martin Vail takes on a high-profile murder case when a frightened altar boy is accused of killing the archbishop. Richard Gere is Vail, a polished courtroom celebrity who chases headlines as eagerly as acquittals, and the case puts him opposite a prosecutor with a personal history with him. The defendant, Aaron (Edward Norton), seems stunned, poor, and out of his depth, even as the evidence points his way. As Vail digs in, the trial opens onto Church corruption, competing versions of the truth, and a defense built as much on performance and psychology as on the facts of the crime.