By Chilimovie - 22 July 2021
After watching hundreds of movies, there is still a movie that can give me a shocking reversal at the end. It is really difficult, but no doubt this movie did it, and it is an old movie from 1996. If I had watched this movie several years ago, I think quite a few suspenseful movies would not give me an amazing feeling.---Primal Fear
Before watching the movie, I watched the movie introduction. The bishop, sex, murder, plus the cowardly Aaron (Edward Norton), the plot of the priest's child abuse is easy to guess. Now Hollywood has categorized the suspenseful film about the murder of a schizophrenic, and it is difficult to show off if it is overused. But back in 1996, I believe this kind of storyline is still very novel. Maybe this film is a murder of a schizophrenic. The originator. At the beginning of the movie, when Martin (Richard Gere) thought that the murderer was someone else, I knew he did it. I am no stranger to this kind of schizophrenic movie. When I saw Janet (Laura Linney) forcing the doctor to give false evidence, I guessed that Roy would be forced to show up in court, but in fact, even if this scene appeared, strictly speaking, he could not prove that he was really schizophrenic. The patient, it is also possible that he is disguised. When I saw that Aaron was about to be exempt from conviction, I couldn't help but think of the suspenseful film "Fatal ID" I watched last time. If Aaron kills a bad person due to schizophrenia but is acquitted, it is excusable. The lawyer protects the personality of a good person from being sentenced, but how can he guarantee that the murderous and evil personality will not disappear? This reminds me of a schizophrenic in "Fatal ID" who killed several innocent lives. On the way to the hospital because the lawyer's defense was exempt from prison, the evil personality did not die but started to kill again. When I was thinking about this issue and lamenting that the movie was only limited to this very ordinary level, I didn't expect the seemingly successful ending to give me an unexpected shock.
The movie I particularly admire is to give you a completely unexpected but very reasonable turn in the last five minutes, which raises the level of this movie all at once. This movie shows the ugliness and hypocrisy of authority, religion; the tragic experience of schizophrenic children as a child, but what is unexpected is the final plot, which makes people wonder: Is Aeron always pretending to be schizophrenic or Roy (cruel personality) Finally killed Aeron (coward personality), completely occupying Aeron's body?
Through the protagonist's mouth, the movie seems to show that Aeron has been pretending to be a complete murderer. Many viewers also think so, and based on this, they believe that if the ending is like this, it will affect the overall conception of the film. The irony of society, sympathy and care for the mentally ill are no longer meaningful. I also agree with this view. If this is the truth, then the care for the schizophrenic will be used and become the most ironic thing. Although some netizens have found hidden clues to prove that Aeron is pretending, my opinion is that the truth is the latter: that is, Aaron is a schizophrenic patient, and Aaron's fragile mind is constantly under pressure and pursued step by step. The weak Aaron side was gradually occupied by the ferocious Roy, and Roy became his main character.
I think the final truth is that Martin must cruelly provoke Roy in order to protect Aeron, but he did not expect that he killed Aeron, and Aeron completely turned into an evil Roy. This is far from Martin's expectation, regardless of the result. He lost this dilemma. If I was thinking about whether to give four points or five points before, it was because of the final outcome that I had to give five points. Most viewers believe that Aeron is the real murderer based on the performance of the movie, and they completely underestimate the real burden of the movie. Finally, Martin's mood was very complicated: sadness, cold from the bottom of his heart, and helpless feeling of powerlessness. He finally began to doubt what he told reporters at the beginning of the film is the truth. He thought the truth was the story passed on by the lawyer. But he now understands that the lawyer has also become a character in the story, whether he is playing the story or the story is playing him.
Regarding the actor, Edward Norton is undoubtedly the best performer. His eyes as the evil Roy are really scary. Personally, I think this is the movie I have seen his best acting skills. The performance is remarkable.
