Find Me Guilty

Another classic from the stable of Sidney Lumet. I just love this guy. Movie is based on a true story of Italian crime family "Lucchese". 20 members of this family were tried for Organized Crime, one of the longest trials in the history of America, 22 months. The main protagonist in this movie is "Jackie Dinorscio", played by Vin Diesel. The movie is a court room drama showing arguments between the prosecution and defendants. And Sidney Lumet manages to capture your full attention as always.

Jackie is serving a 30 year sentence for narcotics trafficking and during this time, the US Govt tries to bring down the whole Lucchese family. Govt approach Jackie to turn him into a witness but as he rightly puts it, "Jackie never rats, Jackie will not rat". Jackie fires his lawyer and defends for himself in the court in a rather comical way infuriating the Judge and the Prosecutors. He however manages to capture the attention of the Jury. He is also apt at cross examining the witnesses put up by the Prosecution. Slowly and steadily he is able to win the trust and attention of his mob, lawyers as well as the Judge. The Jury declares all the defendants not guilty on all counts.

A great performance by Vin Diesel. I never liked him as an actor, but this movie made me look up and notice him. Other actors are equally good in supporting roles. Main cheers for Sidney Lumet who once again gets the best from his actors and holds the plot tight. I just love the way he manages to capture audience's attention by keeping everything very simple and realistic. A very good thing about him is he conveys only as much as is needed, nothing more. A great weave of comedy, emotions and storyline and hit your heart directly.