Primal Fear (1996)

My Review

“Primal Fear” is a crime drama thriller movie about an attorney who takes on a case where an altar boy is accused of murdering a Roman Catholic bishop. Director Gregory Hoblit assembled this complex thriller with more twists-and-turns than a pretzel. The marvelous screenplay by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman was based on the 1993 courtroom drama novel of the same name by William Diehl. It was a big hit at the box office for Paramount Pictures

The stars of “Primal Fear” include Richard Gere as the attorney, Edward Norton as the defendant, Laura Linney as the prosecutor, Alfre Woodward as the judge, Frances McDormand as the psychiatrist, John Mahoney, Terry O’Quinn, Steven Bauer, Joe Spano, Andre Braugher, Tony Plana, Stanley Anderson, Maura Tierney, Jon Seda, Reg Rogers, and Azalea Davila. This was Edward Norton’s film debut, for which he received an Academy Award nomination.