Checked out and watched the legal drama "Reversal of Fortune" which is based on the real life attempted murder case and overturned conviction case of rich and well known European aristocrat Claus Von Bulow(in an Oscar winner role for Jeremy Irons who's sly and cunning in his acting). And this is a legal picture that's a little different from others it stays away from the courtroom drama scenes and most focuses on the behind the scenes legal theory and work by Claus's defense team which was headed by famed defense lawyer Alan Dershowitz(Ron Silver)and a group of his former students that he taught at college. The story is compelling and interesting as this happened not once but twice as Claus was convicted of twice trying to kill his elegant socialite wife Sunny(Glenn Close)and Claus is a spoiled playboy a guy who has a mistress on the side, yet still Sunny had a drug and alcohol problem, and the way the film shows the scenes it leaves it up in the air as to whether Claus gave Sunny the dose or did she overdose herself in a suicide attempt? As questions still linger at what happened at this 1980 Newport mansion.The film is also based on defense lawyer Dershowitz's book as I mentioned most of the picture on the other story side is a focus of the legal work and theory put forward by Alan and his legal team of ex law students and current students waiting to pass the bar. It's really like a legal theory classroom showcase! All in all the film is a catch with interest it still has a drama suspense feel to it as after I watched I still asked the questions did Claus do it or not? "Reversal of Fortune" is one legal theory movie to watch.

I love this film. Every shot feels effortlessly dense. In every shot, one can see texture, whether it is in the landscape of a bedroom or a hotel room, or the structure of a man or woman's face. The cinematography is dark and gloomy. The story, as you likely know, as you have either seen the film, or have read the IMDb summary, is about Claus von Bulow, who has been accused of attempting to murder his wife twice, both times sending her into a coma, the first coma which lasts only a few hours, the second which lasted until 2008 and turned Sunny Bulow into a vegetable. The story is, as all good stories are, so multilayered that it seems to evolve as time goes along. Unlike most films made nowadays, and indeed most stories told in history, it is not linear and obvious. The story threatens to go in any direction at any time. All of the characters seem human, balancing on the line of their own soul and being, reaching out toward other people or retracting into themselves. The Main characters are Claus Von Bulow, Sunny Bulow, and Alan Dershowitz. They are each played by great actors. The film is expertly directed and represents each of these characters separate lives. The viewer sees each character as sympathetic but realizes at certain points throughout the film that the characters may have reached a turning point and made a bad choice or perverted their hearts goodness and done wrong towards another. The film has a lot of subtext. Though the characters do come out and state what they are thinking at various points, for the most part the film shows, not tells. Although all the actors do good jobs in this film, the crown must be placed on the head of Jeremy Irons, one of the greatest actors in history. Irons is often mocked for being very dense and inanimated, I personally think this is because most film watchers are used to actors who are less subtle and less skilled than Irons. His subtlety is extraordinary. This performance may be the most subtle in film history. The performance is mysterious and dark, unexpressibly creepy, but also sympathetic. At one point int he film(don't worry, this isn't a spoiler),Claus von Bulow leans slightly forward in a car, with his head almost completely in shadow and responds to Alan Dershowitz claim "You are a strange man," with the words "You have no idea." Irons is just brilliant. His performance must be seen. The film as a whole explores many theme, favoring emotion and thematic depth over bare bones plot. One of the more interesting themes is the idea that every moment is in the now, and so every human being is freshly born every minute and so they must be forgiven for wrong things they have done in the past. Another theme is the idea that no one truly knows another person, that all people have secrets, hidden characteristics and emotions that are hidden even to themselves as well as to other people. This is the theme I fell that this patient film expresses best. It is well paced and allows you to feel every scene before moving on to the next. The film also explores the importance of humor and the need for humor in humanity. This provides great unexpected moments throughout the film. This is one of my favorite films in history. It is so patient in the camera-work and performances. It feels like more than an interpretation. It feels like a reality or at least a possibility. This is a rare achievement. It is an uncategorizable experience, a great work of art, and a film of astonishing depth. It is one of the few that reaches the true depth of the soul. it does not only confirm something that other films have told us. It twists and turns, until the viewer and the film and the characters are all one. An excellent film.

After seeing the previews, you can never get Jeremy Iron's voice out of your head, when he replies to a question with "you have no idea".Very effective narration by the great Glenn Close. His children also some into play, as well as the man playing Allen Dershewitz, and his whole legal team.Yes, you know he'll be acquitted but the telling takes the entire movie. I haven't seen it in many years, but parts of it just don't leave your memory. I do think that Sunny Von Bulow was a very troubled soul. Perhaps troubled by having too much money and everything she wanted for the asking.You've got to have the TIME to see the whole movie and appreciate its many twists and turns. But well worth the effort. And well worth seeing Jeremy Irons nail the part.

Martha Sharp Crawford von Bülow--known within her circle as "Sunny"--a rich American socialite unhappily married to an unemployed, womanizing lout, slips into an irreversible coma and all fingers point to cucumber-cool husband Claus, who hires a Harvard-based legal team to win his appeal after he is found guilty of attempted murder. Real-life case isn't a baffler, and the staging by director Barbet Schroeder sometimes resembles a waxworks museum, yet Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons (sounding a bit like Boris Karloff) and Glenn Close are well-cast in the leads. Portraying this hapless gruesome-twosome, the stars don't exactly convince us they're the von Bülows (the films teeters between handsome reenactment and caricature--with the comatose victim as pithy narrator); however, the film is marginally engaging as a well-heeled exaggeration of events, with Ron Silver bringing his usual focus and conviction as legal-eagle Alan Dershowitz. ** from ****