A burned out former civil rights lawyer and his hero-worshiping clerk are attempting to free an innocent man, but the web is trickier than they expected. That is the basic plot of this lesser known legal drama starring James Woods and Robert Downey, Jr.
The performances by Woods and Downey, Jr. are the film's highlight. James Woods brings his trademark sarcasm and wit to the role of Eddie Dodd, the disillusioned lawyer who went from the best to a low-level defender of drug peddlers. When Downey, Jr.'s Roger Baron arrives on the scene and fanatically pushes Eddie to take the case of a Korean inmate who might've been wrongly convicted, Woods goes just barely over the top as he chews Downey out for his idolization of him. However Eddie Dodd realizes that what he sees in his new clerk is the same spirit Dodd himself once had and pursues the case. The chemistry between Woods and Downey, Jr. make for the best of the film's out of court scenes and for some heartfelt moments.
The plot of the film is relatively simple as it plays like a "race against time" to find out the true culprit. However the filmmakers make this cliché work to their advantage as the web of lies grow more elaborate until the final reveal of the true villain. The tension is paced well and doesn't try to move into a genre the film is not.
The performances by Woods and Downey, Jr. are the film's highlight. James Woods brings his trademark sarcasm and wit to the role of Eddie Dodd, the disillusioned lawyer who went from the best to a low-level defender of drug peddlers. When Downey, Jr.'s Roger Baron arrives on the scene and fanatically pushes Eddie to take the case of a Korean inmate who might've been wrongly convicted, Woods goes just barely over the top as he chews Downey out for his idolization of him. However Eddie Dodd realizes that what he sees in his new clerk is the same spirit Dodd himself once had and pursues the case. The chemistry between Woods and Downey, Jr. make for the best of the film's out of court scenes and for some heartfelt moments.
The plot of the film is relatively simple as it plays like a "race against time" to find out the true culprit. However the filmmakers make this cliché work to their advantage as the web of lies grow more elaborate until the final reveal of the true villain. The tension is paced well and doesn't try to move into a genre the film is not.