Main Cast: Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg, Christine Lahti
Release Year: 1979
Country: US
Run Time: 120 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Norman Jewison's blackly satirical look at the American justice system has gained in stature as one of the more incisive social commentaries of its time. Al Pacino plays Arthur Kirkland, an incorruptible attorney who attempts to initiate reforms in the Maryland justice system. Kirkland is haunted by the fates of two past clients, one of whom committed suicide in jail; the other is still alive but is locked up on a trumped-up traffic violation. The ability of power and money to distort the pursuit of justice becomes all too clear as Kirkland finds out how deeply the rot has spread. He finally retaliates by representing a repulsive judge (John Forsythe) accused of rape. Pacino's and Forsythe's performances are intense and powerful. Many critics found the film biting and almost painful in its razor-sharp indictment of the justice system, while others declared the script too outrageous. ~ Don Kaye, All Movie Guide
Review
Oftentimes, the most difficult features to approach are those whose brilliant scenes add up to less than they would if taken individually. Norman Jewison's political satire ...And Justice for All hits this mark, to such an extreme that it almost evades value judgment. (It appears to have thoroughly baffled critics when it hit American cinemas in September of 1979 -- and several who were brave enough to approach it dismissed the entire enterprise as mediocre.) Such is an oversimplification at best. As a whole, Justice feels schizoid and erratic, veering violently and unpredictably from searing, bitter, white-hot, and heartbreaking social criticism (sans any visible traces of humor) to some of the most daft, pickled, and uproarious American black comedy of the past several decades. The film's primary weakness originates with Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin's script, which never finds a tonal foothold -- it feels modally uncertain, shaky, and tenuous throughout. (That it received an Oscar nomination is inexplicable.) And yet, by some small miracle, Justice's strengths far outshine the flaws that exist on the script level. The Jewison-directed performances by Al Pacino, then-newcomer Christine Lahti, Jack Warden, a young Jeffrey Tambor, Craig T. Nelson, and especially John Forsythe (who surprised just about everybody with a brilliant vile turn away from his good-guy typecasting) score a bullseye. (Lahti and Pacino play off of each other with astonishing deftness -- their romantic/sexual patter is one of the film's great highlights). The preponderance of the film's satirical commentary on the American judicial system feels spot-on, as eerily predictive as Network was, three years prior, in its excoriation of television news. And one cannot help but admire Levinson and Curtin's ensemble of colorfully cracked characters -- from Pacino, the irascible counsel responsible for punching Forsythe's judge in the mouth, to Tambor's over-the-edge fellow attorney, who shaves his head and hurls discus with cafeteria plates in the courthouse hallways, to Warden's suicidally fetishistic judge, who brings Pacino's character within an inch of death in a helicopter ride. And though the details of the film's final scene will go unrevealed here, let it be said that it rewrote the rules of the cinematic "courtroom tirade" -- it remains one of those rare concluding sequences, like the courtroom scene in Martin Ritt's The Front, that have the viewer crying, laughing, and cheering simultaneously, in stunned admiration. ...And Justice for All may suffer a bit from the scriptwriters' gutsy attempt to blend tones, but it ultimately rises above its scattered weaknesses and stakes its claim as an essential (and overlooked) work of American cinema. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Jeffrey Tambor - Jay Porter; Sam Levene - Arnie; Robert Christian - Ralph Agee; Thomas G. Waites - Jeff McCullough; Larry Bryggman - Warren Fresnell; Craig T. Nelson - Frank Bowers; Dominic Chianese - Carl Travers; Victor Arnold - Leo Fauci; Keith Andes - Marvin Bates; Vincent Beck - Officer Leary; Michael Gorrin - Elderly Man; Baxter Harris - Larry; Joe Morton - Prison Doctor; Alan North - Deputy Sheriff; Thomas Quinn - Desk Clerk Kiley; Beverly Sanders - Sherry; Connie Sawyer - Gitel; Charles Siebert - Assistant District Attorney Keene; Robert Symonds - Judge Burns; Vasili Bogazianos - Avillar; Jack Hollander - Prison Warden
This film includes a well-known scene in which Kirkland shouts at Judge Rayford, "You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!" The closing courtroom scene was filmed on the first take. The film shows many scenes of downtown Baltimore, including the courthouse area, a scene running around the Washington Monument/Mount Vernon Place, and Fort McHenry.
...And Justice For All received two Academy Award nominations, for the best actor in a leading role (Pacino) and for best original screenplay (Curtin and Levinson). Pacino also received a Golden Globe nomination for his performance. This film represented the second time Pacino was nominated for these awards in a movie in which he acted alongside his famed acting teacher, Lee Strasberg, the other being The Godfather Part II.
Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) is an angry, righteous young defense attorney in Baltimore. As the film opens, he is accused of contempt of court for having thrown a punch on judge Henry T. Fleming (John Forsythe), while arguing the case of an indigent defendant, Jeff McCullaugh, (Thomas G. Waites) who was mistaken for a killer and has already endured one and half years in jail, awaiting trial. Though McCullaugh was apparently innocent, Judge Fleming refused Arthur's defense on the day of trial, due to a minor technicality, and sentenced McCullaugh to prison. Arthur also takes the case of meek, gentle transgender Ralph Agee (Robert Christian) who is guilty of a small crime. Arthur pays regular nursing home visits to his devoted grandpa Sam Kirkland (Lee Strasberg) who, though becoming senile, had been a great inspiration to Arthur. In the meantime, Arthur starts dating an ethics committee member, Gail Packer (Christine Lahti), and sleeping with her. One day Arthur is finds himself requested to defending Judge Fleming who to everyone's surprise has been accused of rape, even though they loathe each other. As their previous enmity is well known, Judge Fleming thinks that everyone will believe he is innocent if the person he loathes argues for him. Judge Fleming also blackmails Arthur, telling him his previous assault charge will be reviewed by the ethics committee and they will debar Arthur if he refuses to represent Fleming. Gail confirms the news to Arthur. In a scene providing comic relief, one day Judge Rayford for amusement takes Arthur for a hair-raising ride in his personal helicopter over the harbor and Fort McHenry, laughing as he tests how far they can possibly go without running out of fuel.
Meanwhile, Jay Porter (Jeffrey Tambor), Arthur's friend and partner, has a berserk outburst in court due to guilt from having argued too many cases of various defendants who he felt were truly guilty of violent crimes. Arthur and Judge Rayford control Jay and take him to the hospital. At that time, Arthur calls on another lawyer friend, Warren Fresnell Larry Bryggman, to handle the defense of Ralph, another indigent defendant, in Jay's absence. But after Warren forgets to appear on time at the hearing, Ralph is sentenced to jail and commits suicide. Later on, Arthur has a dispute with Warren; as Warren says that the trial was only "nickels and dimes," (which means a very cheap trail) and Arthur says "people are just people" (which is very significant to his character). Then Jeff McCullaugh, in prison himself despite his innocence, one day takes some policemen hostage there. Arthur arrives and begins pleading with Jeff to release the hostages, but the impatient police shoot Jeff down. After all these frustrations, a tensed Arthur takes Judge Fleming's case, as he has no alternative.
Before the day of Judge Fleming's hearing on his own rape charge, Arthur is surprised and ecstatic to suddenly acquire from his client Carl, some incriminating photographs showing Fleming in BDSM acts with a prostitute. Arthur talks to Gail about this turn of events, but she advises him not to turn against Fleming, as it will result in Arthur's expulsion from his profession. On the day of the hearing, Arthur shows the pictures to Fleming who admits that he is guilty, but says he will make sure the polygraph tests and produced eye-witnesses exonerate Arthur from the personal assault charge against Fleming. Stunned, Arthur goes to trial. In his opening statement, Arthur begins by attacking the prosecution's case while speaking of the value of guilt and innocence and the flaws of the American legal system. As he continues to speak, he bursts out in anger and at last, tells the jury, "My client, The Honorable Henry T. Fleming, should go right to fucking jail! The son of a bitch is guilty!" The judge is enraged, calls Arthur "Out of order", and expels him from the courtroom. In the end, Arthur sits on the court's steps and sees his friend Jay, raising his wig and greets him with "Hi, Arthur" and enters the court. Arthur throws a confused look and the film ends.
In the 6teen episode "Pillow Talk", Wayne, the owner of Underground Videos, states that a moment in which the principal characters make peace with their most embarrassing moments "was awesome, just like Al Pacino in ...And Justice For All.
