NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN (1996) - Movie Review

Director: Sidney Lumet
Starring: Andy Garcia, Ian Holm, Lena Olin, Richard Dreyfuss, James Gandolfini, Colm Feore, Ron Leibman, Paul Guilfoyle, Shiek Mahmud-Bey
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Writer: Sidney Lumet
Runtime: 113 min
Rated: Rated R for violence and language
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

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Synopsis:

Andy Garcia (When A Man Loves A Woman, The Godfather Part III) stars with Academy Award™-winner* Richard Dreyfuss (Mr. Holland's Opus, The Goodbye Girl) in this electrifying political thriller from celebrated director Sidney Lumet (The Verdict, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico). Sean Casey (Garcia) is just another idealistic assistant D.A.— until his prosecution of a cop-killing drug lord catapults him into the center of New York's tempestuous political arena. Vowing to follow the clues wherever they lead, the young D.A. embarks on a search for the truth that will force him to question his faith in the law, his loyalty to loved ones and his place in a system where justice is the ultimate con.

Review:

Best known for his gritty filmmaking style and powerful character studies, "Serpico" and "Dog Day Afternoon" director Sidney Lumet crafts another intelligent crime drama with "Night Falls on Manhattan". This often overlooked film stars Andy Garcia as Sean Casey, a young assistant district attorney who is is thrust into a world where justice and politics are intertwined and nothing is as simple as good, bad, black or white, which puts his own values to the test.

Based on the 1993 novel "Tainted Evidence" by Robert Daley, the film explores a broken system filled with gray areas and compromise. Add police corruption and racial tensions to the mix, and you get a perfect storm of a legal thriller. It's also loosely based on the real-life case of Larry Davis, a drug dealer who shot six cops and was acquitted after accusing the police of trying to kill him because they were involved in the drug trade.

First of all, let me just say that while the movie is good, it doesn't quite reach greatness. While it's well written and deep enough to draw you into its tale of corruption and moral grayness, it has a few drawbacks, mainly the uneven pacing that rushes through some plot elements, a very mild case of convolutedness, and a somewhat anticlimactic third act. However, the story does earn points for being unpredictable and cleverly setting up the moral dilemmas.

While all the actors are great, they also sometimes come off as just performers emoting on cue for the Oscars highlight reel, occasionally unnatural and overly dramatic. For example Andy Garcia has a couple of scenes where he overacts, and maybe it would have worked better if he toned it down a notch instead of gunning for the Oscar.

British actor Ian Holm demonstrates his versatility as Casey's father, a grizzled veteran cop, a role that's quite different from anything he's ever played, but he's really struggling with the New York accent. Meanwhile, James Gandolfini is perfect in an early role that showcased his incredible range, and Ron Leibman is a lot of fun as a flamboyant District Attorney. Honorable mentions go to Lena Olin as Casey's romantic interest, a character that doesn't feel as cliched as it could have been, and Richard Dreyfuss as defense attorney Sam Vigoda, an eventual mentor figure to Casey.

"Night Falls on Manhattan" is an unfairly overlooked film. It's no masterpiece, and definitely not Lumet's best work, but it's a solidly constructed, entertaining and thought-provoking morality play via courtroom drama.

SCORE: 7.5/10