Oscar Flashback: Primal Fear (1996)

Recommended for my viewing pleasure by my friend Jeremy was Primal Fear, for which Edward Norton was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar (film year, 1996; awarding year, 1997). The other nominees in this category were:

Best Supporting Actor

Jerry Maguire - Cuba Gooding, Jr. (Winner) *

Fargo - William H. Macy *
Shine - Armin Mueller-Stahl *
Ghosts of Mississippi - James Woods *

My friend is a little too in love with Richard Gere for my comfort. As for me, I'm just not a fan. I don't think he's a very good actor, and he appears to play a variation of Richard Gere in every film he makes. Plus, despite the average straight woman or gay man's esteemed estimation, I just don't find him all that good-looking. His eyes are unnaturally squint-y and his face is asymmetrical, despite his perfectly aligned teeth, and if he can't act anyway, why should I devote any time to watching his films when I would prefer to look upon the likes of more interesting men, like Brad Pitt? While discussing this dichotomy of opinions purely intellectually and without any emotion or passion at all (ahem), my friend insisted I watch two films starring Gere that he believed would change my mind about the erstwhile Pretty Woman playboy. The earliest release of the two that I watched was Primal Fear.

While Richard Gere might have originally turned me off of (and, therefore, away from) this film, I was intrigued to discover that Primal Fear ultimately proved to be Edward Norton's breakthrough vehicle, thrusting him into the spotlight thanks to the notoriety associated with an Oscar nomination for his performance. This made me a bit more conducive to the idea of watching this film, as I am a huge fan of Norton; contrary to his salt-and-pepper coiffed co-star, he is a consistently good actor, even when the material he is working with fails to challenge him at a level worthy of his abilities. Fortunately, his character in this film was disturbingly difficult to watch and, thus, no doubt challenging to play; my disbelief was so suspended by his thorough portrayal of a schizophrenic would-be murderer that I completely ignored what should have been an obvious twist at the end of the film. I think it's safe to say that without Norton, Primal Fear would be an exercise in mediocrity at best, but with him, the film was an engaging enough slice of dramatic cinema, even in spite of the presence of Richard Gere.

Martin Vail (Gere) is a glory-hungry Chicago defense attorney who is constantly looking for the next big case to bring him fame and fortune. When news reports reveal that a young, stuttering altar boy named Aaron Stampler (Norton) might have murdered the local Archbishop, Vail sees the case as a chance to assert himself into the limelight once again. As time progresses, and as he interacts with Aaron, however, he grows to believe that Aaron is, in fact, innocent, which shocks equally ambitious prosecutor and Vail's former lover, Janet (Laura Linney). After all, Vail can usually separate himself from his client, regardless of the level of his or her guilt; yet, Vail finds evidence of possible conspiracy and cover-up in connection with a blown commercial real estate deal, partially facilitated by the Archbishop, at Chicago's highest levels of government. In addition, through psychiatric evaluation (the psychiatrist is played by Frances McDormand), Vail discovers that Aaron and other potential victims were sexually abused by the Archbishop, a fact that poses two problems for Vail's defense. The first is that the videotape evidence showing the Archbishop's more lascivious extracurricular activities demonstrates motive for murder, and introducing this evidence potentially helps the prosecution. The second is that Aaron's response to this information is manifested through the appearance of an aggressive personality called "Roy," an apparent dissociative split for Aaron as a coping mechanism, which makes him a potentially unreliable witness. The case seems to be an uphill battle, and Vail must struggle to reconcile his personal ambitions with his growing sympathy for his client.

As stated previously, Primal Fear was engaging, thought-provoking, and sufficiently entertaining, owing in largest part to Norton's otherworldly performance as Stampler. The manifestations of his apparent schizophrenia (or dissociative disorder) are chilling, and the entire intensity of the mystery underlying the crime and suspense surrounding Vail's case rests squarely on this actor's shoulders. Without Norton's expert character portrayal, the film and its possibly predictable twist (I can say no more) would be readily apparent to the viewer long before the final frames roll and would, therefore, undercut the level of dramatic tension and the associated impact that the film was clearly striving to achieve, since psychological scarring appears to be the thematic connective tissue binding all of the characters, with the Stampler character as the nucleus of that connection.

Norton's performance coupled with a solidly constructed story delving into provocative topics such as child abuse by Catholic clergy and the corruption of local governments also make for a gripping two hours. The subject matter here is not fluffy fare, and Gregory Hoblit's directorial choice seemingly demands that the viewer channel and re-channel his/her sympathies from character to character by considering the players that, at first, appear to have clear, black and white motives when those motives may otherwise, as usual, be blended shades of gray. If there is a flaw to the flow of this particular narrative, it's in the fact that more background perspective was not provided for any of the primary characters, especially Vail. Only Aaron is given any kind of shading via explicit back story and the implicit complexities of the role, which, in association with Norton's interpretation of the character, is why his performance is so compelling and far more so than any of the other performances in the film.

Unfortunately, as noted, without Norton, the film would likely be mediocre and formulaic at best. The direction, aside from the electrifying scenes featuring Norton, is somewhat uninspired. The worst example of this uninspired direction is apparent during the presentation of the legal arguments, when the scene cuts from Gere's Vail to Linney's Janet in a forced point-counterpoint argument style in rapid succession. This ping-pong match may have been Hoblit grasping for originality and is helpful in maintaining a quick pace but, in the end, undermines the intensity of the moment. This same method is then duplicated in the interrogation chamber, panning rapidly from Vail to Stampler in quick cuts, without pause, in an effort to ratchet up the thrill of the surprise behind Stampler's dissociative anomaly. In many ways, both scenes feel like a tennis match in fast forward mode, and while I am normally a proponent of not allowing the pacing of a film to drag, which ultimately ends up bogging down the entire proceeding, the opposite extreme can be equally detrimental (and somewhat irritating) if not altogether dizzying, especially when the same tactic is used several times, in several scenes.

Also, while Norton may have dazzled, the other supporting players and, frankly, Gere himself offered superfluous performances that could have easily been played in their somewhat two-dimensional execution by any actor. The character archetypes here were largely superficial and cookie cutter by design, and therefore, there was nothing exemplary or of particular note offered by Gere, Linney, McDormand, or the rest, even if some of these performers have a wide-ranging and multifaceted filmography (aside from Gere). These archetypes likely suffered thanks to a screenwriter and director that did not take narrative time to flush out or texture these characters more, either on the page or via the talent they were able to secure for the project. Add to that a score that sounded a bit like a variation on the "Law and Order" television show theme, and the film effectively felt like it was actually made for television, at times.

In any event, Primal Fear was as engaging and occasionally titillating as it was owing to a truly exemplary performance by one of its supporting cast and a provocative combination of topics. Otherwise, it could have been another lackluster vehicle for the consistently unimpressive Richard Gere, since it lacked any true originality in execution beyond story and a singular performance. Thus, Primal Fear earns an easy 7 on the patented ratings scale for being shaky but entertaining. Also, it does not pass the test. Frankly, and no offense to Mr. Gere, but I don't think any of his films will ever make my collection. Yet, I encourage his fans to keep trying to find one of his films that I might like. I'm still waiting for the day.

As an added note, I've officially completed this Oscar category for this Oscar year (1996), apparently. From what I remember, I think Cuba Gooding, Jr. probably deserved his Oscar for Jerry Maguire because he was a hoot as a washed-up but earnest professional football player trying to remain a viable asset, and he provided some much-needed comic relief to an otherwise ordinary romantic comedy/sports movie, if such a combination can be ordinary. All of the other actors were great in their respective roles and films, though. It was a good year for supporting actors, it seems.