What I Watched -- Primal Fear

This is a creepy movie, but Richard Gere is at his best. He plays Martin Vale, a high-powered Chicago defense attorney who offers his services, pro bono, to the 19-year-old kid (played by Edward Norton) who is accused of murdering the local archbishop.

What follows is an investigation into the legal profession and the church, and into the minds of those who are a part of each. And there are some really messed up minds, to be sure. Martin Vale is smooth, egotistical, and arrogant, but appears to have the goods to back it up. Janet Venable, the prosecutor (played by Laura Linney), is stubborn in her pursuit of the truth, sometimes to her own detriment. And Aaron Stampler, the defendant, is a mystery. He stutters and seems uncomfortable when the psychiatrist (played by Frances McDormand) examining him gets too close to certain areas of his life. There's something there, we're just not sure what.

Eventually, inevitably, all that something that was hidden comes tumbling out. And, surprising though it may be, it isn't nearly as interesting as the questions it leaves you with about the psyches of the characters in its aftermath.

Bottom line: fantastic but very creepy movie with a great cast up to the challenge.