Primal Fear
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Short description
Martin Vail is a Chicago defense attorney who takes cases for the publicity and the money rather than out of principle. He volunteers to represent Aaron Stampler, a young man from a small town accused of killing the city's archbishop, a crime for which the evidence looks overwhelming. Aaron insists he is innocent, and as Vail digs into the case he comes to believe him, even as his investigation uncovers troubling secrets within the Church. Complicating matters, the prosecutor is Janet Venable, Vail's former lover and one-time student.
The film was directed by Gregory Hoblit and written by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman. It was the first feature Hoblit directed, followed by Fallen, Frequency, Hart's War, Fracture and Untraceable. Richard Gere plays Vail, Laura Linney plays Venable, and Edward Norton plays Aaron in the role that launched his career; John Mahoney, Alfre Woodard and Frances McDormand also appear. The production cost about 30 million dollars and took in roughly 103 million worldwide, a strong return.
On IMDb it holds 7.7 out of 10 from around 281,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.7 out of 10 from more than 4,000 votes. A critics' rating of 6.8 out of 10 from 47 reviews places it somewhat below those audience scores. At 130 minutes, it remains a courtroom drama built around the shifting relationship between lawyer and client.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film is based on William Diehl's novel "Primal Fear" (1993).
- Initially, the role of Edward Norton was intended for Leonardo DiCaprio.
- A total of 2,100 actors auditioned for the role of Aaron, which went to Edward Norton.
- Many aspiring actors actively sought the role of Aaron, as it was believed that a role of this nature would greatly benefit their careers. Matt Damon recounted that he didn't get cast in Peter Weir's "Dead Poets Society" (1989) and really wanted to be in "Primal Fear." Another actor was cast, and Damon and Ben Affleck decided not to wait for another opportunity, thinking they needed to do something about it. As a result, the screenplay for the drama "Good Will Hunting" (Gus Van Sant, 1997) was born, and filming it significantly helped both actors' careers.
- Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role of Aaron because he was exhausted from filming the drama "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" (Lasse Hallström, 1993).
- The character played by Alfre Woodard was originally written as a 60-year-old white man.
- The idea that Aaron would stutter belonged to Edward Norton (this was not written in either the literary source material or the script). Richard Gere's reaction when Norton throws him against the wall in prison was completely genuine – and at Norton's suggestion, it was also left in the film. Finally, Norton's last improvisation in the film was the slow clapping at the end, just before the explosion.
- The film's slogan is a slightly altered quote from Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." The full quote reads: "No man can long be a hypocrite: to have one face for himself, and another for the crowd; at last he will lose himself, and which is his true face he knows not."
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