Martin Vail, the man at the peak of his career, decided that he would do what he wants instead of what he needs. He took the case when he first saw Aaron running away from the cops on live television. He knew it was the case he would be spending a lot of his times on. But little did he know, it was not the simple game of ping pong, nor the logical assumption and deduction.
Amidst the whole trial, there were other events happening that supported the characters' development. Vail with his previous client, Vail with his supporting staff, Vail with Venable, Vail with Alex. All of it contributed to the story as well as the characters, making it even more of a real time progression than a snippet of the trial.
There was one scene that really brought me in. It was at about one fourth of movie, when the trial began. It was not the conventional opening sequences at the court, showing each sides pacing around in the courtroom and giving out their statements and what not. It was a interesting mix and cut, which mixed the visual of the news on tv while playing the voice from court. That along had reduced a lot of foreplay on court and cut away a few good seconds of useless introduction.
The struggle, for Vail, is that Aaron didn't give him a case strong enough. He barely knew Aaron, though he came in strong and forceful. He wanted to be the one with the power, to be the one who control, and manipulate Aaron's life. Maybe that joke he said to Jack Connerman at the bar was true, why gamble with money when you can gamble with people's life? He also said he believe in good and bad, but he couldn't figure out why good people would do bad things. And this bugs him. Maybe this is a general idea that is represented both in the movie and the real world. In the movie, what the Archbishop did was surprising to the public, because people believe in the Catholic Church, they believe in God and they believe in the goodness and kindness of the Archbishop. But the truth was as unsettling as him getting killed.
Now let's talk about Aaron, or Roy, or whatever that was in the body of this person. There is not a bit of good or bad inside him. Aaron is as good as Roy, and Roy is as bad as Aaron. Maybe Aaron is played by Roy, and Roy is played by another personality. But one thing is certain, whoever killed, is the killer. He did not suffer from the other personality, rather he created these shadows that engulfed him, because he was weak in spirit and mind, because he grew up in a traumatised environment. Who doesn't, though? A prince grew up in the same world as well as we did, sometime we just haven't look far enough, into the cosmetic level, to realize what happened to us doesn't justify what we should react. We are easily manipulated, because we are fragile. We are seeker of companionship, as well as other animals. We mate for a reason, and we survive for a reason, but that reason is not for God, or to believe in wrong or right. Our existence is the defiance to the outside force, and we triumph in our timeless achievement for a moment of whitewash glory, just for the sake of repetition.
I think the movie want to talk about the authenticity of this kind of mental sickness. Do we really have some kind of psychological problems like the multiple personality disorder, or did we just invented it because it is so convenient, so handy, to refer to something that shared similar symptoms with a name.
It is also about ego and pride and selfishness as presented by Vail to Venable. People could not bare to risk a bit in gaining an advantage over another. Vail seeks victory and triumph, even though he disdain press and fame--the product invented for celebrity.
Vail came in with a briefcase and a coat, and he left, also, in the same fashion.
Primal Fear, a name that doesn't justify the film. But I haven't read the book yet, so I won't say anything.
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