REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, based on defence attorney Alan Dershowitz's book, is a hypnotically eerie exploration of a dark, ambiguous event in the life of a wealthy socialite couple. Dershowitz (Ron Silver) is hired by Claus von Bulow (Jeremy Irons) to defend him against charges that he attempted to murder his wife, Sunny (Glenn .. Read more
| Starring | Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver, Fisher Stevens |
|---|---|
| Director | Barbet Schroeder |
| Genres | Drama |
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REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, based on defence attorney Alan Dershowitz's book, is a hypnotically eerie exploration of a dark, ambiguous event in the life of a wealthy socialite couple. Dershowitz (Ron Silver) is hired by Claus von Bulow (Jeremy Irons) to defend him against charges that he attempted to murder his wife, Sunny (Glenn Close), who lies in a coma. As Dershowitz, aided by his eager law students, scrambles for ways to puncture the veracity of the charges against von Bulow, Sunny narrates flashback scenes that offer a frosted window into both the events leading up to her coma-inducing collapse and the strangely cold and alienating world of the superrich.
Irons's von Bulow, a brilliant Academy Award-winning characterisation, provides the creepy, complicated centre for a film in which every surface is slippery and every truth has trailing behind it a sinuous shadow of doubt. Silver energises the film with his portrayal of the tenacious, obsessive defence attorney, and Close adds a vital layer with her biting narration and her work in flashback scenes as a woman sadly drifting in a drug-addled haze through her moneyed world. Director Barbet Schroeder, who garnered Academy Award nominations for both Best Director and (with co-writer Nicholas Kazan) Best Screenplay, orchestrates with a light touch, preserving the buoyancy of a film that is deeply textured yet tight as a riddle.
| Starring | Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver, Fisher Stevens, Uta Hagen, Anabella Sciorra |
|---|---|
| Director | Barbet Schroeder |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 46 mins |
| Certificate |  |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | Production year: 1990 To Rent: DVD: 04 Aug 2003 |
"...Alternately sincere and sinister, droll and decadent, Irons makes an ambiguous figure vividly real and disturbing. It's a tricky, triumphant portrayal..."
- 4
- 4
The law is not a moral judge
Less a film with character development, and drama more a staged discussion of American law. Here Claus von Bulow's innocence, morality etc are irrelevant; ... read more »
[Highly rated reviewer]
- 0
- 0
AN AWESOME DUO OF TALENTS
Jeremy Irons and Glenn contribute a great deal to make this movie into a really first class production which demands attention from first to last, Highly ... read more »
- 4
- 4
The law is not a moral judge
Less a film with character development, and drama more a staged discussion of American law. Here Claus von Bulow's innocence, morality etc are irrelevant; ... read more »
This week, in Conviction, Hilary Swank plays Betty Anne Wheeler, a working class mum who put herself through law school to get her brother out of jail. It sounds far-fetched, but it’s a true story and a tribute to the determination and faith of a remarkable woman. They say that in America, everybody discovers his or her vocation on TV – which may account for the sheer volume of lawyers in that most litigious of nations. Certainly there has never been a shortage of colourful lawyers Read more
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