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Fear this: `Primal' disappoints

Imagine what would have happened if halfway through the O.J. Simpson trial, Johnny Cochran or Robert Shapiro discovered, contrary to their original beliefs, that their client was guilty of the crime he was being charged with. How would they have reacted? This central question lies at the heart of "Primal Fear," a clumsy courtroom drama / psychological thriller directed by Gregory Hoblit.

When one of Chicago's most revered archbishops is brutally murdered and a suspect is arrested, Martin Vail (Richard Gere), a successful defense attorney, decides to pursue the case and the spotlight it projects. Although at first the egotistical Vail does not concern himself with the truth, he develops genuine compassion for his seemingly harmless client, Aaron Stampler (played masterfully by Edward Norton), who was an altar boy in the archbishop's church choir. Moreover, there appears to be a lack of motive, as the defendant had nothing but love and respect for the slain religious leader who had picked the homeless Aaron off the streets and given him a place to live.

However, as the trial moves on and Vail conducts more of his own research, the evidence begins to pile up against his client. A motive is revealed when the lawyer finds out that the perverse archbishop used to videotape Aaron and others performing sexual acts. Yet Vail still can't believe that the soft-spoken, polite suspect would have been able to murder anyone.

That is, until the lawyer meets "Roy," Aaron's violent alter ego, who proudly admits to the crime. Vail is left trying to figure out how to defend a murderer, while trying to do what is best for the kind Aaron, all without losing the case and bruising his ego.

The core of "Primal Fear" deals with corruption, sex and multiple personalities (what is this: a TV movie?). Although this has been done many times before, it doesn't seem as if the filmmakers care. What the movie tries to do is dig deep into the psyche of not only the suspect, but also the slimy lawyer defending him (playing such a scum is not much of a stretch for Richard Gere).

Unfortunately, it does not do this very well. All we find out about Aaron is that he was abused as a child, and the creation of Roy allows the mild mannered boy to vent his anger. Come on, tell us something we don't know.

At least the characterization of Vail is a bit more complex. Placed in a difficult situation, his attitudes and actions oscillate significantly. First, all he cares about is victory and notoriety. Then, all he wants to do is help Aaron. Then, he wants to save Aaron and fix some personal vendettas while winning. Finally, he wants justice.

Yet in the end, what prevents the film from totally bombing is its conclusion. The completely uncreative, nearly laughable happenings manage to finally stumble their way toward the finish. Then, when it appears that an annoyingly neat ending has been tacked on, subsequent events add a final twist that leave eyebrows arched and mouths wide open. For a brief second there is a sense of satisfaction that negates anything else that took place over the previous two hours.

Still, despite the ending, it is difficult to overlook the rest of the film. Not that the production is of very low quality, rather, it manages to be extremely forgettable.

And it's also hard to ignore the obvious Simpson trial references. The media is obsessed with the case, a knife is the weapon of choice, there is a televised chase scene, the judge has many Ito-esque qualities, Vail could have been based on a dream team lawyer, and there is even a startling conclusion to the trial. Unfortunately, the one thing "Primal Fear" does not copy from the Simpson case that it could really use, is excitement leading up to the finale. This just goes to show that occasionally CNN can be more interesting than a movie.