X
- 1989
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
- 1989
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
Summary A cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.
Directed By: Joseph Ruben
Written By: Wesley Strick
- 1989
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
- 1989
- R
- Columbia Pictures
- 1 h 45 m
True Believer
64
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary A cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.
Directed By: Joseph Ruben
Written By: Wesley Strick
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 Critic Reviews
64
60% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
40% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 5 Critic Reviews
64
60% Positive
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
40% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
James Woods, a bushy-tailed attorney, goes the distance with the powers that be and makes "True Believer" a legal blast.
The case involves lots of flaws in the original trial: unreliable eyewitnesses, time discrepancies, conflicts of interest. In other hands, this material might seem familiar, but Woods puts a spin on it, an intensity that makes it feel important - to him, and therefore to us.
The film's view of Eddie Dodd is occasionally on the facile side, but Mr. Woods's performance is crackling and passionate enough to give the character depth despite that; it's also laced with snappish, self-mocking humor that Mr. Woods delivers particularly well. This performance is so razor-sharp that Eddie can be seen coming alive with each little triumph, reveling in each little maneuver and taking each little disappointment terribly hard. His enthusiasm is irresistible.
True Believer is a thriller about moral rejuvenation, and there's not much wrong with it that another actor in the lead wouldn't cure.
Ruben’s stylistic devices, his high angle shots and his black-and-white recountings of courtroom testimony, become just so much cinematic corpse-rouging.
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Awards
Cognac Festival du Film Policier
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
• 1 Nomination
