WARNING- SPOILERS MAY BE INSIDE THIS REVIEW
AMERICAN TRAGEDY is a fascinating look at the OJ Simpson trial, from the point of view of his legal defence team. The four main characters are Johnnie Cochran (Ving Rhames), Robert Shapiro (Ron Silver), Barry Scheck (Bruno Kirby) and F. Lee Bailey (Christopher Plummer). These are some of the best legal minds in the world- and when they get together they act like bickering children. The only one who comes out the mini-series looking good is Scheck- he stirs clear of the conflict, probably because he knows his place is secure. He's the only one who understands the DNA evidence, so they can't fire him. The rest look like petty people. Cochran is a big-headed blow-hard who tries to act like he's just another brother. Shapiro is a petty man who is hurt when everyone seems to think Cochran should be the lead lawyer- after all it was his case first, even if he had never tried a capital case before and his strong suit was making pleas. Bailey comes across as a feeble-minded old man- who is next to incompetent when it comes to trial work. The DA's office is not a major characters- yet they still come off as not that bright. A key piece of evidence is excluded because they simply did not turn it over to the defence. The actor playing Simpson himself is never seen. We just see the back of his head, or hear his voice on the speaker phone. As the trial progresses he gets more and more angry, until he explodes at Cochran before closing statements. The acting is flawless. Christopher Plummer embodies Bailey and with the aid of make-up looks much fatter then he really is. Ving Rhames deserves another Golden Globe for Actor in a TV movie, hopefully this time he'll keep it. This film is a fascinating look at the trial of the century- and shows us all why this happened in the first place.
AMERICAN TRAGEDY is a fascinating look at the OJ Simpson trial, from the point of view of his legal defence team. The four main characters are Johnnie Cochran (Ving Rhames), Robert Shapiro (Ron Silver), Barry Scheck (Bruno Kirby) and F. Lee Bailey (Christopher Plummer). These are some of the best legal minds in the world- and when they get together they act like bickering children. The only one who comes out the mini-series looking good is Scheck- he stirs clear of the conflict, probably because he knows his place is secure. He's the only one who understands the DNA evidence, so they can't fire him. The rest look like petty people. Cochran is a big-headed blow-hard who tries to act like he's just another brother. Shapiro is a petty man who is hurt when everyone seems to think Cochran should be the lead lawyer- after all it was his case first, even if he had never tried a capital case before and his strong suit was making pleas. Bailey comes across as a feeble-minded old man- who is next to incompetent when it comes to trial work. The DA's office is not a major characters- yet they still come off as not that bright. A key piece of evidence is excluded because they simply did not turn it over to the defence. The actor playing Simpson himself is never seen. We just see the back of his head, or hear his voice on the speaker phone. As the trial progresses he gets more and more angry, until he explodes at Cochran before closing statements. The acting is flawless. Christopher Plummer embodies Bailey and with the aid of make-up looks much fatter then he really is. Ving Rhames deserves another Golden Globe for Actor in a TV movie, hopefully this time he'll keep it. This film is a fascinating look at the trial of the century- and shows us all why this happened in the first place.