Main Cast: James Woods, Robert Downey, Jr., Yuji Okumoto, Margaret Colin, Kurtwood Smith, Tom Bower
Release Year: 1989
Country: US
Run Time: 103 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The only True Believer at the beginning of this drama is idealistic young attorney Robert Downey Jr., who apprentices under the guidance of celebrated civil-rights activist James Woods. Alas, in the years since the sixties, Woods has become a disillusioned, dope-smoking ambulance chaser. Goaded by Downey, Woods takes up one last "lost cause:" that of Korean-American prison inmate Yuji Okomoto, who is about to be tried for the self-defense slaying of another prisoner. As Woods investigates, he unearths several iniquities in the trial that sent Okomoto to prison. Despite the fact that the one witness who might clear Okomoto is an unhinged conspiracy theorist, Woods endeavors to re-open Okomoto's case--which plays right into the hands of sharkish, politically ambitious DA Kurtwood Smith. Chock full of plot twists and last-minute shockers, True Believer was popular enough to inspire a spin-off TV series, Eddie Dodd. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Joseph Ruben's legal thriller about the awakening of a former '60s activist lawyer is James Woods' show all the way, and his passion takes the script to another level. While the story of a cynical older character who's reignited by an idealistic neophyte is hardly new, Strick's sharp, engaging, and fast-moving script, studded with '60s references, and threaded through with the theme of racism, would be absorbing with any actor in the lead. But Woods, as the burnt-out lawyer who has adjusted to the greed of the '80s by trying to pretend that he's protecting crucial legal principles in defending drug dealers, has never had a role to which he was so perfectly suited, and he tears into it with a riveting intensity. If the lawyer has long ago realized that the utopian vision of his youth was an illusion, he can suddenly appreciate a smaller battle where justice can still be won. Although some may be amused by the irony of Downey telling his boss to, in effect, put down the joint and get to work, the actor is an excellent foil for Woods in this tough-love relationship. The feisty Margaret Colin also scores as a laid-back investigator who gives as good as she gets, and Kurtwood Smith is effective as a federal attorney who practices a cold-blooded version of realpolitik. ~ Michael Costello, All Movie Guide
Charles Hallahan - Vincent Dennehy; Sully Diaz - Maraquilla Esparza; Misan Kim - Mrs. Kim; John Snyder - Chucky Loeder; Luis Guzman - Ortega; Graham Beckel - Sklaroff; Tony Haney - Montell; Joel Polis - Dean Rabin; Will Marchetti - Judge Quealy; Tony Abatemarco - Glen Fulton; Gerry Bamman - Brian Nevins; Cab Covay - Teardrop; Charles Dean - Detective; Richard Fancy - Ballistics Expert; Miguel Fernandes - Art Esparza; Kurt Fuller - George Ballistics; Taylor Gilbert - Reynard's Receptionist; Ken Grantham - Cecil's Judge; George Jenesky - Slim Jim; George Maguire - Maitre d'; Maureen McVerry - Billy; Deborah Offner - Laura Gayley; Abigail van Alyn - Connie Dennehy; Thomas Wagner - Tommy; Mike Stone - Client; Cully Fredricksen - Scarecrow; Ginger Chung - Translator; David Espinoza - Corrections Officer; Peter Fitzsimmons - Court Clerk; Thelton E. Henderson - Judge Baum; Peter Anthony Jacobs - Reporter; Gustave Johnson - Detective; Stu Klitsher - Magnate; Sean O'Brien - Clyde Gruner; Ralph Peduto - Court Officer; Margot Rose - Ms. Jessum; Jan Schultz - Lindeman; Jarrett Sullivan - Boy; Karen Rea; David Booth - Minister
Credit
Jim Pohl - Art Director, Lawrence Lasker - Co-producer, Walter Parkes - Co-producer, Patrick Crowley - Co-producer, Erica Phillips - Costume Designer, Joseph Ruben - Director, George Bowers - Editor, Brad Fiedel - Composer (Music Score), Deborah Figuly - Makeup, Tim Galvin - Production Designer, Whitney Green - Production Designer, Lawrence Miller - Production Designer, John Lindley - Cinematographer, Steven Jordan - Set Designer, Jim Poynter - Set Designer, John McLeod - Special Effects, Rocky Capella - Stunts, Jim Lovelett - Stunts, Lawrence Lasker - Screenwriter, Walter Parkes - Screenwriter, Wesley Strick - Screenwriter
The film stars James Woods as burnt-out attorney Eddie Dodd, who has left behind civil rights work to defend drug dealers. Robert Downey Jr. plays Roger Baron, an idealistic young legal clerk fresh out of law school who encourages Dodd to take on the case of Shu Kai Kim, a young Korean man, played by Yuji Okumoto, who has been imprisoned for a gang-related murder. Kim's mother believes her son was wrongfully accused.
Real life background
The film is loosely based on an investigative series of articles written by Pulitzer Prize nominated journalist K. W. Lee on the conviction of immigrant Chol Soo Lee for a 1973San Francisco Chinatown gangland murder. The news coverage led to a new trial, eventual acquittal and release of the prisoner from San Quentin's Death Row. Screenwriter Wesley Strick based the character of Eddie Dodd on real-life Bay Area defense attorney Tony Serra.
Strick's screenplay was nominated for a 1990 Edgar Award for Best Mystery Motion Picture.
