Criminal Law (film)
| Criminal Law | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Martin Campbell |
| Produced by |
Hilary Heath Robert MacLean |
| Written by | Mark Kasdan |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Distributed by | Hemdale Film Corporation |
Running time | 117 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $9,974,446 |
Criminal Law is a 1989 American legal thriller film directed by Martin Campbell and starring Gary Oldman and Kevin Bacon. It received overwhelmingly negative reviews.
Plot
Attorney Ben Chase successfully defends Martin Thiel, a wealthy, young playboy, getting him acquitted of a series of brutal murders — only to find out later that Thiel is indeed a serial killer. Since Thiel cannot be tried again for his crimes, Chase tries to get him to incriminate himself before he can kill again.
Cast
- Gary Oldman as Ben Chase
- Kevin Bacon as Martin Thiel
- Tess Harper as Detective Stillwell
- Karen Young as Ellen Faulkner
- Joe Don Baker as Detective Mesel
- Sean McCann as Jacob Fischer
- Ron Lea as Gary Hull
- Michael Sinelnikoff as Professor Clemtes
- Elizabeth Shepherd as Dr. Thiel
Reception
Criminal Law received a decidedly unfavorable reaction from critics, with a 33% "rotten" rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Roger Ebert called the film "a textbook example of a movie going wrong before our very eyes."[1]
Oldman's performance is generally regarded as one of the worst of his career.[2] The film marks his first use of an American accent, which was derided by many critics for rendering his dialogue "forced and stilted".[2] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave a scathing appraisal of the performance, writing: "Oldman is a powerhouse...But what's a British actor doing playing a Harvard attorney in a Boston-based movie shot in Montreal? Flailing about like a drowning man, that's what. Oldman's [accent is] laughably in-and-out". He added that "Bacon delivers the film's one modulated performance", while "Oldman rants hysterically".[3]
References
- ↑ Criminal Law at Rotten Tomatoes.
- 1 2 Roberts, Chris (August 1999). "Gary Oldman: A sheep in wolf's clothing". Uncut. IPC Media (27).
- ↑ Criminal Law review. Rolling Stone.