A Mess of a Movie

Norman Jewison directed one of my favourite movies of all time, Moonstruck. But outside of that one, he is responsible for a long line of interesting failures, including Rollerball, Ice Man, In Country and January Man. So when I finally sat down to watch And Justice for All, I hoped that I would be moonstruck again. Instead I found it to be the worst Norman Jewison movie ever.

Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) is an idealistic young defense attorney. The movie begins with a series of episodes detailing his efforts to help two clients from the margins of society who are getting a rough ride from the criminal justice system. Along the way we meet unstable Judge Wayford (Jack Warden) who is Kirkland’s only real friend, defense attorney Jay Porter (Jeffrey Tambor), Kirkland's girlfriend Gail Packer (Christine Lahti, in her movie debut) and Lee Strasberg as Kirkland’s grandfather Sam. We also meet Judge Fleming (John Forsythe), a tough, conservative, arrogant justice. Fleming and Kirkland despise one another. When Fleming is accused of a brutal rape, Kirlkand’s ideals are tested when he is asked to defend him.

Yikes, what a mess of a movie. The script is all over the place. It's a comedy ... no wait, a buddy movie... no wait, a melodrama ... no wait, an indictment of the US justice system. The attempt at satire is derailed by the thematic inconsistency. I give screenwriters Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson the benefit of the doubt, and assume that they were aiming for satire.

The performances are all over the place too. Christine Lahti is fresh. Jack Warden has himself a great time. John Forsythe and Jeffrey Tambor contest to see who can chew on the scenery the hardest. Lee Strasberg is seemingly in a different more earnest movie. Al Pacino is brilliantly watchable as always, even when he goes over the top, which he does here on several spectacular occasions.

The worst element of all is the 70's disco-y score, which may stand as the golden standard definition of inappropriate and annoying.

If you have nothing better to do, rent it and pick up some beer and chips. You will be fascinated, although I suspect not in the manner intended by Jewison, Levinson and Curtin. More in the way that a car crash fascinates.

One thing I can say about Norman Jewison’s movies is that, good or bad, they are always memorable. Even the one that I truly wish I could forget.