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...And Justice for All (1979)
Rate:
9
Viewed:
1/04, 1/21
1/21:
Not many people know this, but for ...And Justice for All, Al Pacino received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.
His performance is on the same level with Serpico and
Dog Day Afternoon. The best part is the ending when Al
Pacino did the go-for-broke opening statement in just one take. When the judge is finally outraged, Kirkland yells, "You're
out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!" Honestly, it was a lose-lose
situation for him, so why not? This is what he had been thinking all along.
The movie is sad and a tragedy. I wonder how often it happens for real in the justice system. Kirkland had two clients
on minor charges, but they wound up dead because of the slight legal screw-ups. Yet there's a judge who seems
superior to everybody, even the lawyers, and is about to get away with rape and the beating of a female who only has her word for
proof. Like Serpico, Kirkland is the lone sane person in an insane system.
One reviewer said the movie had too many subplots and they didn't add up to much. Wrong. That's the whole point of the
film: Kirkland has so many things going on at once that he begins to lose control of himself in the process. It's a difficult
job. I think a big mistake for him is sleeping with the woman because she's absolutely wrong for him as far as philosophical
differences go.
The cast gives good performances. In a rare appearance, Lee Strasberg reteams with Al Pacino for the second and last time.
If Carl Travers looks familiar to you, it's Dominic Chianese who played Johnny Ola in
The Godfather Part II.
Interestingly, he was Hyman Roth's messenger boy, hence the shocking photos? Two legends in TV history make their screen debuts.
One is Craig T. Nelson of Coach fame. It's ironical his character made a football analogy. The other is Jeffrey Tambor
who's extremely funny, going on to be even funnier as Hank Kingsley in
The Larry Sanders Show .
All in all, often real and sincere, Al Pacino is amazing in ...And Justice for All.