Criminal Law (1989) * *

Directed by:  Martin Campbell

Starring:  Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Tess Harper, Karen Young, Joe Don Baker


Criminal Law starts out with slick courtroom theatrics played very well by Gary Oldman as a slick, theatrical lawyer named Ben Chase.    He is able to get his client off on a murder charge, but soon his worst nightmare comes true...his client kills again, setting off a moral dilemma for Chase and a cat and mouse game for the client, Martin Thiel (Bacon), who is slick, rich, and not one bit innocent.    I enjoyed the way Criminal Law started, but it dissolved quickly into an overly stylized film which goes way over the top in almost every way.   Even the score, heavy on synthesizer, is a little too noticeable as it underscores practically each scene.    I started to get a TV movie of the week feel from it.

Oldman's performance turns out to be uneven and every now and then a bit over the top itself.    Oldman is not a thousand miles removed from his work in The Professional or True Romance, where he threatens to eat the scenery and spit it out.     Worse yet, I found myself not caring about him or his dilemma much, which seems to follow the script more than it is felt.    Bacon is able to keep his yuppie psycho in check for most of the film, instilling his character with surface geniality and inner creepiness.    The reasoning for his murders seems taken from the headlines of the day, as if his character really needed a reason to be psychotic.

The film takes place in Boston, yet no one has a Boston accent, even the veteran cops.    Joe Don Baker has his traditional strong Southern drawl intact.   Turns out the film was shot in Montreal, so there isn't a lot of local Boston scenery to be shared.    It rains so much that the Peanuts phrase, "It was a dark and stormy night", jumped into my head more than once.     I was also less than convinced by Oldman's relationship with a young woman (Karen Young) who is a victim's roommate.   At first, she is angry with Oldman for setting Bacon free, but soon because the script requires it, she and Oldman are having sex.   Not just sex, but the kind that could me mistaken for assault at least and rape at worst.  

The ending is strangely handled too, involving one character holding another at gunpoint inside an empty courtroom and explaining his motives, which are perfectly clear by that time.     Considering that the character loudly assaulted the other just moments before, causing a mass panic, it's odd that the two are able to have such quality time together in the courtroom.   Just saying.