Anatomically Correct (Anatomy Of A Murder (DVD))

Member Name: ruth_cole

Product:	Anatomy Of A Murder (DVD)
Date:	21/09/04 (224 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: intelligent, surprisingly witty drama, jimmy stewart, cracking score

Disadvantages: daft, daft ending...

There were essentially three reasons for watching this. One: the Saul Bass exhibit I'd seen made a few key images stick in my mind - the fractured stylised body that represents Anatomy of a Murder was one of the most pervasive. Two: it was an introduction to director Otto Preminger. Three: I love Jimmy Stewart.

Anatomy of a Murder is a deceptive film... by that I don't mean that there are a number of meandering twists and curves; more that there are fewer than you might expect. Surprising, witty, teasing, yes. Shocking, no. In many ways it's the score that gives that away. And a bloody good jazz score it is too. The Duke Ellington-composed music is teasing, surprisingly seductive, creamily tantalising... and it's the first thing that hits you, along with the sharp Bass credits, as the film opens.

The drama is one of courtroom. Lieutenant Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara) admits to the shooting of Barney Quill, the local barkeep, because Quill raped his young, beautiful wife Laura (Lee Remick). Paul Biegler (James Stewart) is their lawyer, a reluctant, fishing-and-jazz-obsessed shuffling attorney, whose appearance belies his sharp legal mind. He seeks to prove temporary insanity, but comes up against a brittle city-slicker lawyer, Claude Dancer (George C. Scott). With only the help of an unpaid secretary (Eve Arden) and a struggling alcoholic partner (the dodderingly loveable Arthur O'Connell), it's not going to be easy...

At 154 minutes, this is a real character-driven slow burner. The evidence is repeated a hundred different ways, each time with a new little spin and detail. The case is both outstandingly simple and demandingly complex - yes, he shot him. He admits to shooting him. But was he in possession of all his faculties when he did it? There are some interesting side-issues here; one psychiatrist claims that whether Manion knew right from wrong is irrelevant if he was driven by an "irrestible impulse", which in itself is a wonderfully controversial statement. There are a few more; this is an undoubtedly intelligent movie.

What's immediately noticeable about Anatomy of a Murder is that with all the suspense, for all that it is a very serious and unsettling film, it's also tremendously witty. Much of the dialogue exchanged in the courtroom is greeted with laughter. Stewart's technique is grandstand and smokescreen, to object and rage, and then to quip and grin disarmingly. It's left to Scott to balance this with his oily, insidious lawyer routine, softly-spoken and creepy. (We're not talking Atticus Finch with either of these guys). Both actors do a stellar job. Given the way Biegler frustrates the prosecution, were we not following his side of the case, he could easily be the villain; he's no clean-playing, noble hero. He's not even convinced by his own defence! And that's one of the great strengths of the film, that it is not about cause, but about character, and that's what makes it interesting. There's a lot of humour in the give and take, some of it uncomfortable, such as the introduction of the word "panties" into courtroom dialogue, leaving four grown men discussing how to bring it up without the observers snickering. My father recalls that the introduction of the word caused a flurry of gossip about the film at the time. Funny how the jury quietly accept the word "rape", though, isn't it?

Remick's portrayal of the youthful almost-seductress lends another layer of uncomfortable debate. Her clingy tops and waspish waist, teasing tones and frank appraisal of her own attractiveness ("you're interested, but there's no reason to be afraid of you") immediately pit the audience against their own prejudices. Do we really believe this woman to have been raped? Might it not have been her violent, jealous husband who battered her for cheating, before plugging Quill? That nasty, insidious little undertone to many a rape case (she encouraged it... dressing like that... acting like that...) comes into play, and horribly unsettling it is too. Remick does a brilliant, naively vixenish job, teasing and toying her way throughout. She's ably complemented by a surly, churlish Gazzara, whose deliberate, sly voice and sudden outbursts are well-balanced and convincing. These are not new characters, and we're still recycling them (that awful woman Juliet Lewis seems to be trying to recreate Remick at every turn - badly) but I've always believed that originality is overrated sometimes; it's as well to have familiarity done well (that in itself makes it original).

There's another character in all of this. Preminger's slick direction. Like many a brilliant director, Preminger's style seems to be to direct what I would call "normally" (that is, no surprising or self-consciously artful angles) and then subtly slide in a shot that you suddenly realise is framed beautifully (Stewart objecting, distantly, between the close-up faces of a gurning Scott and quivering Remick). It grows on you, creeps up on you... abruptly it occurs to you that there may just be a master at work behind this camera.

So with brilliant music, pitch-perfect performances, a witty, sparkling script and class direction... why only four stars?

Well, it's the ending. And unfortunately that's all I can tell you without ruining it. The ending frankly lets down the film, although, to be fair, not too badly. It's just... oh... how to describe it without giving anything away? Disappointing, rather silly. Too easy. OK? That'll have to do.

The DVD version (something on the lines of £7.99 from play.com) contains a few extras above the trailer and scene-selection options. There is a photo montage, filmographies and the original advertising posters. Nothing earth-shattering, really, but a pleasant package, and I loved the use of the little shards of Bass's artwork as menu cursors.

Certificate 12.

If you can ignore the slightly irksome ending (and you'll find, with the weight of the brilliance that precedes, that you probably can) this is a clever, surprising little number, and I do indeed recommend it.

Alex
xxx

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