''By Reason of Insanity'' is a 1982 Canadian
short
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courtroom drama television film written by David McLaren and directed by
Donald Shebib
Donald Everett "Don" Shebib (born 27 January 1938) is a Canadian film director. Shebib is a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Televisi ...
which examines the use of
insanity pleas in murder cases.
The film was produced by Alan Burke and made for the anthology series ''
For the Record''.
Synopsis
Teenager Mark Devlin (
John Wildman
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
) shoplifts a curved linoleum knife from a hardware store and then, seeing a customer pay for a television set in cash, follows the stranger to the parking lot. He attacks and brutally kills the man impulsively during the robbery by slitting his throat in full view of multiple witnesses and the victim's five-year-old son, who watches in stunned silence. Devlin is arrested almost immediately and charged with
first-degree murder, a seemingly open and shut case.
Devlin's lawyer is young, bright and ambitious Jane Dexter (Patricia Collins). The only way Devlin can beat the rap is through an
insanity plea, as specified in Section 16 (2) of the
Criminal Code, which defines an insane person having a
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...
such that he cannot appreciate the "nature or quality of an act". Dexter must therefore argue that Devlin was insane when he killed his victim.
There are long preparations to defend Devlin. Psychiatrists try to evaluate him. But it is at the trial where it will be determined whether he is legally insane and therefore innocent or guilty.
Devlin's mother (
Barbara Williams) testifies that her son was beaten by his father "but it never did any good." She never "really" knew him. He hurt people and "never cared that he did." Devlin testifies that he was unmoved by the killing of a man he did not know: "I didn't feel nothing... It was like a movie. The killing was a movie." The defence psychiatrist (
Hrant Alianak) defines Devlin as a
psychopath: impulsive, egocentric, and completely indifferent to the reactions of others. Furthermore, he is suffering from a "disorder of consciousness" and entered a "psychotic state" just before he killed.
The Crown introduces its own psychiatric evidence. The prosecutor (Michael Kirby) maintains that, since Devlin stole a knife with intent to commit murder, the act was premeditated.
The jury must decide whether the accused "appreciated" the nature of his act.
Cast
*
John Wildman
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
as Mark Devlin, a "smouldering, sullen" young man on trial for first-degree murder.
*Patricia Collins as Jane Dexter, a "cool, professional," defence attorney.
*Michael Kirby as Richard Smith, a "smarmy"
crown attorney
Crown attorneys or crown counsel (or, in Alberta and New Brunswick, crown prosecutors) are the prosecutors in the legal system of Canada.
Crown attorneys represent the Crown and act as prosecutor in proceedings under the Criminal Code and ...
, a bit of a "ham".
*
Barbara Williams as Mrs. Devlin, Mark Devlin's mother
*
Hrant Alianak as Dr. Gregarin
Genre and themes
A
courtroom drama, ''By Reason of Insanity'' is an exploration of the ethics and social consequences of the "humane and enlightened"
insanity plea,
which fell under
Section 16 (2) of the Criminal Code. At the time the film was made, s. 16(2) stated: "a person is insane when he ... has a disease of the mind to an extent that renders him incapable of appreciating the nature or quality of the act."
Questioning the "market" of
expert witnesses and the
adversarial system itself, the film asks who is served by the insanity defence.
For
Donald Shebib
Donald Everett "Don" Shebib (born 27 January 1938) is a Canadian film director. Shebib is a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Televisi ...
, the question of legal responsibility for one's actions becomes a question of whether "anyone is morally responsible for anything," and then "Is there morality?" and "Is there a God?"
Production
Background
''
For the Record'' was intended as a series of dramas which would take an honest look at problems in Canadian society, among them many about mental illness and "flawed social institutions".
Gail Henley remarked in 1985 that ''For the Record'' dramas were "information laden" when compared to their more emotional American counterparts and emphasises the importance of research and documentation for the series.
Writing
''By Reason of Insanity'' was the first of two dramas directed by
Donald Shebib
Donald Everett "Don" Shebib (born 27 January 1938) is a Canadian film director. Shebib is a central figure in the development of English Canadian cinema who made several short documentaries for the National Film Board of Canada and CBC Televisi ...
for the series.
Shebib said he was not sure how the audience would respond to the "tricky subject matter," since it was not known whose side the audience would take: "I felt that one of the problems with the script was that it didn't make clear where sympathies should lie. Eventually, I decided I may as well stay on the tightrope and not come down on one side or another."
Casting and filming
In casting
John Wildman
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
as Mark Devlin, Shebib had been determined to cast "in a soft way, avoiding the stereotype of the drooling homicidal maniac", while for Jane Dexter he wanted someone cool and professional, "just someone doing a job."
''By Reason of Insanity'' was filmed in
Toronto over a two-week period in late October 1981. The last twenty minutes of the film take place in a courtroom, and as Shebib related: "The thing the courtroom scenes had going for them was a good sense of reality... We shot them in an actual courtroom in Toronto's old city hall and used real court clerks. That helped a lot."
Release
''By Reason of Insanity'' was first broadcast on 7 March 1982,
at a time when revelations of the
Clifford Olson
Clifford Robert Olson Jr. (January 1, 1940 – September 30, 2011) was a convicted Canadian serial killer who confessed to murdering 11 children and teenagers between the ages of 9 and 18 in the early 1980s.
Murders
Christine Weller, 12, from ...
serial murders were still fresh in the minds of the audience. Shebib remarked: "We couldn't have lucked out better... With the public interest in the Olson case, this will have enormous topicality."
Distribution
The film was sold to overseas markets in
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
,
Trinidad,
Jamaica,
Singapore,
Philippines,
Israel and
New Zealand.
Broadcast rights and home media
The film was also sold to cable channels in the
United Kingdom and
United States, and released in video formats in
South Africa and
Scandinavia.
Reception
Critical response
Reviewing ''For the Records 1982 season of dramas, Bill MacVicar judged ''By Reason of Insanity'' to be the best, "well-crafted" and displaying "praiseworthy equilibrium" and found it "refreshing" that the film withholds editorial judgement:
''By Reason of Insanity'' questions the market in "expert" witnesses and the adversarial system itself, but it leaves us with a disturbing paradox. ... Who is best served, the drama asks. The answer seems to be neither the accused nor society, but the victorious lawyer.
Wessley Hicks calls the film "a terse, spare, provoking drama", that, while making no judgments, does create uneasiness.
Mike Boone was impressed by John Wildman, who he found projects everyone's "nightmare image of adolescent menace alternately unfeeling and touchingly vulnerable, impulsive and full of pent-up hostility."
He also found the film as a whole was a "refreshing change" from American TV trial scenes from ''
Perry Mason'' on down: "No cries of "Objection!" every two minutes, no histrionics or long-winded oratory by flamboyant attorneys."
Moreover, the film offers "fascinating insights into the workings of the Canadian legal system" and psychiatric testimony.
Accolade
David McLaren was nominated for an
ACTRA Award for his screenplay.
References
External links
By Reason of Insanity' on IMDb
{{Donald Shebib
1982 crime drama films
1982 films
Films directed by Donald Shebib
Canadian crime drama films
Films about law in Canada
1980s Canadian films