''Primal Fear'' is a 1996 American

legal thriller The legal thriller genre is a type of crime fiction genre that focuses on the proceedings of the investigation, with particular reference to the impacts on courtroom proceedings and the lives of characters. The courtroom proceedings and legal a ...

film directed by

Gregory Hoblit Gregory King Hoblit (born November 27, 1944) is an American film director, television director and television producer. He is best known for directing the films '' Primal Fear'', ''Fallen'', ''Frequency'', ''Hart's War'', ''Fracture'', and ''Un ...

, based on

William Diehl William Diehl (; December 4, 1924 – November 24, 2006) was an American novelist and photojournalist. Biography Diehl was a successful photographer and journalist, when he began his novel-writing career at 50. His first novel, ''Sharky's Ma ...

's 1993 novel of the same name, and written by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman. It stars

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

Laura Linney Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964) is an American actress. Having studied acting at Juilliard School (1986-1990), she became known for her complex and multilayered performances on stage and screen. She has received various accolades, ...

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahone ...

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King), ...

Frances McDormand Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith; June 23, 1957) is an American actress and producer. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, McDormand has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, two Primetime Em ...

and

Edward Norton Edward Harrison Norton (born August 18, 1969) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received numerous awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award and three Academy Award nominations. Born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised ...

in his film debut. The film revolves around a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

defense attorney who believes that his altar boy client is not guilty of murdering an influential Catholic archbishop. The film was a box office success and received positive reviews, with Norton's breakthrough performance earning critical praise. He was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role while worki ...

and a

BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film Award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film. Actors of all n ...

, and won the

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year. The formal ...

Plot

Martin Vail is a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

defense attorney, who loves the spotlight on winning acquittals for high-profile clients on legal technicalities. He meets Janet Venable, a former lover and

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...

, who rejects his advances. Meanwhile,

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Rushman, a beloved figure and head of Chicago's Catholic diocese, is ambushed and killed by Aaron Stampler, a 19-year-old

altar boy An altar server is a laity, lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up t ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

, who is arrested by the police. Vail meets with Aaron in his holding cell and offers to defend him

pro bono ( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...

. Aaron reveals that he had admired the archbishop. Vail believes that Aaron is innocent, being meek and with a severe

stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

. Venable is assigned to prosecute him for capital murder. As the trial begins, Vail discovers that powerful civic leaders, including the corrupt

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

, John Shaughnessy, recently lost millions in

real-estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

investments, due to Rushman's decision to not develop church-owned land. Following a tip from Alex, a former altar boy, about a videotape involving Aaron, Vail steals the VHS cassette from the crime scene. The tape shows the archbishop forcing Aaron, his girlfriend Linda and Alex to engage in sexual acts. When Vail confronts Aaron and accuses him of having lied, he breaks down crying and uses his short name Roy, a violent

sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...

without a stutter. He confesses to the archbishop's death and becomes physically violent. Soon after he becomes passive and shy again, with no recollection of the personality switch. Molly Arrington, the

neuropsychologist Neuropsychology is a branch of psychology concerned with how a person's cognition and behavior are related to the brain and the rest of the nervous system. Professionals in this branch of psychology often focus on how injuries or illnesses of t ...

examining Aaron, is convinced that he has

dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), better known as multiple personality disorder or multiple personality syndrome, is a mental disorder characterized by the presence of at least two distinct and relatively enduring personality states. The di ...

, caused by years of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of his father and Rushman. Vail is troubled by this information, because he cannot enter an

insanity plea The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to an episodic psychiatric disease at the time of the cr ...

in an ongoing trial. He decides whether to introduce the evidence that might elicit sympathy from the jury for Aaron, but could provide the motive that Venable cannot establish. He has the videotape anonymously delivered to Venable's doorstep, knowing that she will realize who had sent it, as she is under intense pressure to deliver a guilty verdict and will use the tape as a proof of motive. During the trial, Vail calls Aaron to the witness stand and questions him about the sexual abuse he had suffered at Rushman's hands. He introduces the evidence that Shaughnessy had covered it up and Rushman had molested another man. During Venable's harsh questioning and cross-examination, Aaron attacks and threatens to kill her, but he is subdued and returned to his cell. The judge informs Vail and Venable that she intends to dismiss the jury in favor of a

bench trial A bench trial is a trial by judge, as opposed to a trial by jury. The term applies most appropriately to any administrative hearing in relation to a summary offense to distinguish the type of trial. Many legal systems (Roman, Islamic) use bench ...

, and will declare Aaron not guilty by reason of insanity, remanding him to a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

. Venable is fired for losing the case and for allowing Rushman's crimes to be publicly exposed, but it is implied that she will resume her relationship with Vail. Vail visits Aaron in his cell to inform him of the dismissal. Aaron claims to have no recollection of his violent reaction in the courtroom, but as Vail is leaving, he slips by asking him about Venable. When Vail confronts Aaron, he reveals that he had faked the personality disorder. No longer stuttering, he brags about killing Rushman and Linda. When Vail asks him if there was ever a Roy, he replies "there was never an Aaron". Stunned and disillusioned, Vail leaves the courthouse, as Aaron taunts him from his cell.

Cast

Several Chicago television news personalities made cameos as themselves as they deliver reports about the case, including WLS's

Diann Burns Diann Burns (born September 29, 1958 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a former television news anchor and a nine-time Emmy Award-winner. She is best known for her years as a prime-time weekday anchor for two different Chicago television stations. She has ...

and

Linda Yu Linda Yu (born December 1, 1946) is a Chinese-American former news anchor and author. Yu is best known as co-anchor on the Eyewitness newscast for WLS-TV in Chicago, Illinois from April 1984 until November 2016. Yu became Chicago's first Asian� ...

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Stre ...

Mary Ann Childers Mary Ann Childers is an American media consultant and former newscaster. From 1980 to 1994, she worked as an anchor at WLS-TV in Chicago,Robert Feder. "Anchor With Jay? 'Not in the Cards". ''Chicago Sun-Times''. August 8, 1994. Section 2 Features, ...

Lester Holt Lester Don Holt Jr. (born March 8, 1959) is an American journalist and news anchor for the weekday edition of ''NBC Nightly News'' and ''Dateline NBC''. On June 18, 2015, Holt was made the permanent anchor of ''NBC Nightly News'' following the ...

and Jon Duncanson, and

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...

's Bob Jordan and Randy Salerno.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack includes the Portuguese

fado Fado (; "destiny, fate") is a music genre that can be traced to the 1820s in Lisbon, Portugal, but probably has much earlier origins. Fado historian and scholar Rui Vieira Nery states that "the only reliable information on the history of fado was ...

song "

Canção do Mar "Canção do Mar" (in English: "Song of the Sea") is a song in the fado tradition by Portuguese singer Amália Rodrigues initially recorded with the lyrics "Solidão" (in English: "Solitude") for the soundtrack of the film "Les amants du Tage" a ...

" sung by

Dulce Pontes Dulce José Silva Pontes (; born 8 April 1969) is a Portuguese songwriter and singer who performs in many musical styles, including pop, folk, and classical music. She is usually defined as a world music artist. Her songs contributed to the 1990s ...

Reception

Review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

reports an approval rating of 77% based on 47 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads: "''Primal Fear'' is a straightforward, yet entertaining thriller elevated by a crackerjack performance from Edward Norton."

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which uses a

weighted average The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...

, lists the film with a weighted average score of 46/100 based on 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...

awarded the film an average grade of B+ on an A+-to-F scale.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that the film has a "good deal of surface charm" but "the story relies on an overload of tangential subplots to keep it looking busy."

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' awarded ''Primal Fear'' three and a half stars, writing that "the plot is as good as crime procedurals get, but the movie is really better than its plot because of the three-dimensional characters." Ebert described Gere's performance as one of the best in his career, praised Linney for rising above what might have been a

stock character A stock character, also known as a character archetype, is a fictional character in a work of art such as a novel, play, or a film whom audiences recognize from frequent recurrences in a particular literary tradition. There is a wide range of st ...

and applauded Norton for offering a "completely convincing" portrayal. The film spent three weekends at the top of the U.S. box office.

Accolades

Norton's depiction of Aaron Stampler earned him multiple awards and nominations. The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

in these lists: * 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: ** Aaron Stampler – Nominated Villain * 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10: ** Nominated Courtroom Drama Film

References

External links

* * * * * * {{Gregory Hoblit 1996 films 1996 crime drama films 1996 crime thriller films 1996 directorial debut films 1996 drama films 1990s legal films 1990s psychological thriller films 1990s thriller drama films American crime drama films American crime thriller films American legal drama films American psychological thriller films American thriller drama films American courtroom films Films about dissociative identity disorder Films scored by James Newton Howard Films about lawyers Films about religion Films based on American novels Films based on crime novels Films directed by Gregory Hoblit Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago Films shot in West Virginia Films produced by Gary Lucchesi Legal thriller films American neo-noir films Paramount Pictures films Rysher Entertainment films Works about judgement

Courtroom dramas A courtroom is the enclosed space in which courts of law are held in front of a judge. A number of courtrooms, which may also be known as "courts", may be housed in a courthouse. In recent years, courtrooms have been equipped with audiovisual ...

1990s English-language films 1990s American films ja:真実の行方#映画