Preminger is a director who sees all problems and issues as a single-take two-shot, the stylistic expression of the eternal conflict, not between right and wrong, but between the right-wrong on one side and the right-wrong on the other, a representation of the right-wrong in all of us as our share of the human condition. In the middle of the conflict stands Otto Preminger, right-wrong, good-bad, and probably sincere-cynical.
--Andrew Sarris
Anatomy of a Murder is a terrific courtroom drama, distinguished as much by what it leaves out as what it includes, focusing on the issues in the trial and not including anything about jury selection as well as leaving out final arguments as redundant. It is based on a book by Robert Taver that is narrated in the first-person by defense attorney Paul Biegler (played by James Stewart in the film), defending army lieutenant Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara), who murdered the man who allegedly raped Manion's wife (Lee Remick). The murder itself is not shown and everything we learn about it is from the testimony of witnesses. The film is filmed on location in northern Michigan in black-and-white by veteran cinematograper Sam Leavitt, written by Wendell Mayes (who wrote several films for Preminger) and with an effectively low-key score by Duke Ellington.
Though the film does not have a narration everything is seen from Biegler's point of view; the audience learns things as he learns them and he mounts an insanity defense with the help of old lawyer friend Paul Emmett McCarthy (Arthur O'Connell), who has given up drinking to help Biegler. The judge is played elegantly by non-actor Joseph Welch (who accused Joseph McCarthy of having no decency) and George C, Scott, in his third movie, plays assistant prosecutor Claude Dancer, who traps himself by asking a question he did not already know the answer to. Preminger effectively uses long takes to capture the details of the trial, using two-shots to capture the interaction between lawyers and witnesses.
No comments:
Post a Comment