Primal Fear (film)
Encyclopedia
Primal Fear is a 1996 American crime
drama
thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit
and starring Richard Gere
and Edward Norton
. The film tells the story of a defense attorney, Martin Vail (Gere), who defends an altar boy, Aaron Stampler
(Norton), charged with the murder
of a Catholic
archbishop
. The movie is an adaptation
of William Diehl
's 1993 novel of the same name
. Norton's role in the film received multiple accolades, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
.
who jumps at the chance to represent Aaron Stampler
, a young, stuttering altar boy accused of murdering the Archbishop.
At first interested primarily in the publicity that the case will bring, Vail comes to believe that his client is truly innocent, much to the chagrin of the prosecutor (and Vail's former lover), Janet Venable.
Vail discovers that powerful civic leaders, including the District Attorney
, have lost millions in real estate
investments due to a decision by the Archbishop not to develop certain church lands. The archbishop received numerous death threats as a result. He also learns that the archbishop had been sexually abusing altar boys, including Stampler.
Introducing this evidence, while it would make Stampler more sympathetic to the jury, would also give his client a motive for murder, something the prosecution otherwise has lacked.
The trial does not proceed well for the defense, as there is considerable evidence against Stampler and public opinion holds him almost certainly guilty. When Vail confronts his client and accuses him of having lied, Aaron breaks down and transforms into a new persona, a violent sociopath
who calls himself "Roy." He confesses to the murder of the archbishop and throws Vail against the wall, injuring him.
When this incident is over, Aaron appears to have no recollection of it. Molly Arrington, the psychiatrist
examining Aaron, is convinced he suffers from multiple personality disorder
due to childhood abuse by his own father. However, Vail cannot enter an insanity
plea during an ongoing trial.
Vail sets up a confrontation in court. After Venable questions him harshly, Aaron turns into Roy and charges at her, threatening to snap her neck if anyone comes near him. Aaron is subdued by courthouse marshals and is rushed back to his cell. In light of Aaron's apparent insanity
, the judge dismisses the jury in favor of a bench trial and then finds Aaron not guilty by reason of mental insanity, and remands him to a mental hospital
.
Vail visits to tell him this news. Aaron says he recalls nothing of what happened in the courtroom, having again "lost time." However, just as Vail is leaving, Aaron asks him to "tell Ms. Venable I hope her neck is okay," which is not something that Aaron should have been able to remember if he had "lost time." Vail points this out, whereupon Stampler grins slyly and reveals that he has been pretending to be insane the whole time. But he didn't make up the identity of Roy, he made up Aaron.
Stampler now admits to having murdered the archbishop, as well as his girlfriend, Linda, whom the cleric also had molested. Stunned and disillusioned, Vail walks away, with Roy taunting him from the cell.
. According to Janet Maslin
, Hoblit "has had a substantial Emmy-winning television career ... and sticks to a television style for his first feature. If that means glossy storytelling and one-note insights into character, it also means a good deal of surface charm. Mr. Hoblit also turns the film's closing revelation into one of its better selling points." And in spite of the film's two hour, 10 minute length, the novel on which the film was based is "pared down to a farfetched plot and paper-thin motives, [while] the story relies on an overload of tangential subplots to keep it looking busy."
The film spent three weekends at the top of the U.S. box office.
Primal Fear inspired the 2002 Bollywood
movie Deewangee
.
's depiction of Aaron Stampler
garnered him multiple awards and nominations. Norton won:
Norton was nominated for
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
thriller film directed by Gregory Hoblit
Gregory Hoblit
Gregory King Hoblit is an American Hollywood film director and TV producer.Hoblit was born in Abilene, Texas, the son of Elizabeth Hubbard King and Harold Foster Hoblit, an FBI agent. Much of Hoblit's work is oriented towards police, attorneys, and legal cases...
and starring Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
and Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
. The film tells the story of a defense attorney, Martin Vail (Gere), who defends an altar boy, Aaron Stampler
Aaron Stampler
Aaron Stampler is a fictional character in William Diehl's 1993 novel Primal Fear and its two sequels, Show of Evil and Reign in Hell .-In Primal Fear:...
(Norton), charged with the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
. The movie is an adaptation
Adaptation
An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....
of William Diehl
William Diehl
William Diehl was an American novelist and photojournalist.He had two childern, a boy and a girl from whom he was estranged....
's 1993 novel of the same name
Primal Fear (novel)
Primal Fear is the 1993 thriller novel by William Diehl about Aaron Stampler, an altar boy accused of murder and Martin Vail, the attorney defending him. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 1996, starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton....
. Norton's role in the film received multiple accolades, including a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
.
Plot
Martin Vail is a prominent defense attorney in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
who jumps at the chance to represent Aaron Stampler
Aaron Stampler
Aaron Stampler is a fictional character in William Diehl's 1993 novel Primal Fear and its two sequels, Show of Evil and Reign in Hell .-In Primal Fear:...
, a young, stuttering altar boy accused of murdering the Archbishop.
At first interested primarily in the publicity that the case will bring, Vail comes to believe that his client is truly innocent, much to the chagrin of the prosecutor (and Vail's former lover), Janet Venable.
Vail discovers that powerful civic leaders, including the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, have lost millions in real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
investments due to a decision by the Archbishop not to develop certain church lands. The archbishop received numerous death threats as a result. He also learns that the archbishop had been sexually abusing altar boys, including Stampler.
Introducing this evidence, while it would make Stampler more sympathetic to the jury, would also give his client a motive for murder, something the prosecution otherwise has lacked.
The trial does not proceed well for the defense, as there is considerable evidence against Stampler and public opinion holds him almost certainly guilty. When Vail confronts his client and accuses him of having lied, Aaron breaks down and transforms into a new persona, a violent sociopath
Antisocial personality disorder
Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
who calls himself "Roy." He confesses to the murder of the archbishop and throws Vail against the wall, injuring him.
When this incident is over, Aaron appears to have no recollection of it. Molly Arrington, the psychiatrist
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
examining Aaron, is convinced he suffers from multiple personality disorder
Dissociative identity disorder
Dissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
due to childhood abuse by his own father. However, Vail cannot enter an insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
plea during an ongoing trial.
Vail sets up a confrontation in court. After Venable questions him harshly, Aaron turns into Roy and charges at her, threatening to snap her neck if anyone comes near him. Aaron is subdued by courthouse marshals and is rushed back to his cell. In light of Aaron's apparent insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
, the judge dismisses the jury in favor of a bench trial and then finds Aaron not guilty by reason of mental insanity, and remands him to a mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
.
Vail visits to tell him this news. Aaron says he recalls nothing of what happened in the courtroom, having again "lost time." However, just as Vail is leaving, Aaron asks him to "tell Ms. Venable I hope her neck is okay," which is not something that Aaron should have been able to remember if he had "lost time." Vail points this out, whereupon Stampler grins slyly and reveals that he has been pretending to be insane the whole time. But he didn't make up the identity of Roy, he made up Aaron.
Stampler now admits to having murdered the archbishop, as well as his girlfriend, Linda, whom the cleric also had molested. Stunned and disillusioned, Vail walks away, with Roy taunting him from the cell.
Cast
- Richard GereRichard GereRichard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
as Martin Vail - Laura LinneyLaura LinneyLaura Leggett Linney is an American actress of film, television, and theatre. Linney has won three Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She has been nominated for three times for an Academy Award and once for a BAFTA Award...
as Janet Venable
- John MahoneyJohn MahoneyJohn Mahoney is a British born American actor, known for playing Martin "Marty" Crane, the retired police officer, father of Kelsey Grammer's Dr...
as John Shaughnessy - Alfre WoodardAlfre WoodardAlfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...
as Judge Shoat - Frances McDormandFrances McDormandFrances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
as Dr. Molly Arrington - Edward NortonEdward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
as Aaron StamplerAaron StamplerAaron Stampler is a fictional character in William Diehl's 1993 novel Primal Fear and its two sequels, Show of Evil and Reign in Hell .-In Primal Fear:... - Terry O'QuinnTerry O'QuinnTerry O'Quinn is an American actor, most famous for playing John Locke on the TV series Lost. He made his debut in a 1980 television movie called F.D.R.: The Last Year. Since then, O'Quinn has had minor supporting roles in films and TV movies such as Young Guns, All the Right Moves, Silver Bullet,...
as Bud Yancy - Andre BraugherAndre BraugherAndre Braugher is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Thomas Searles in the film Glory, as the fiery detective Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street from 1993 to 1998 and again in the 2000 made-for-TV film Homicide: Life on the Street, and as Owen Thoreau Jr...
as Tommy Goodman - Steven BauerSteven BauerSteven Bauer is a Cuban-American actor. He is known for his role as Manny Ribera in the 1983 film Scarface, and his role on the bilingual PBS show Que Pasa, USA.-Early life:...
as Joey Pinero - Joe SpanoJoe SpanoJoseph Peter "Joe" Spano is an American actor who came to prominence through his role as Lt. Henry Goldblume on Hill Street Blues and is now well known for his work in NCIS as FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell....
as Abel Stenner - Tony PlanaTony PlanaTony Plana is a Cuban-American actor and director. He is well known for playing Betty Suarez's father, Ignacio Suarez, on the ABC show Ugly Betty.-Personal life:...
as Martinez - Stanley AndersonStanley AndersonStanley Anderson is an American actor.-Biography:Anderson was born in Billings, Montana. A Theatre Masters Degree graduate of San Jose State University in the sixties, he began his professional acting career in 1967...
as Archbishop Rushman - Maura TierneyMaura TierneyMaura Therese Tierney is an American film and television actress, who is best known for her roles as Lisa Miller on NewsRadio and Abby Lockhart on the television medical drama ER.-Early life:...
as Naomi Chance - Jon SedaJon SedaJonathan Seda is an American actor, possibly best known for his role as Detective Paul Falsone on NBC's: Homicide: Life on the Street....
as Alex
Reception
Primal Fear garnered positive reviews from critics, earning a 72% "Fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. According to Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...
, Hoblit "has had a substantial Emmy-winning television career ... and sticks to a television style for his first feature. If that means glossy storytelling and one-note insights into character, it also means a good deal of surface charm. Mr. Hoblit also turns the film's closing revelation into one of its better selling points." And in spite of the film's two hour, 10 minute length, the novel on which the film was based is "pared down to a farfetched plot and paper-thin motives, [while] the story relies on an overload of tangential subplots to keep it looking busy."
The film spent three weekends at the top of the U.S. box office.
Primal Fear inspired the 2002 Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
movie Deewangee
Deewangee
Deewangee is a 2002 Indian Bollywood film directed by Anees Bazmee. The film stars Ajay Devgan, Akshaye Khanna and Urmila Matondkar in leading roles. The film premiered on 25 October 2002...
.
Accolades
Edward NortonEdward Norton
Edward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
's depiction of Aaron Stampler
Aaron Stampler
Aaron Stampler is a fictional character in William Diehl's 1993 novel Primal Fear and its two sequels, Show of Evil and Reign in Hell .-In Primal Fear:...
garnered him multiple awards and nominations. Norton won:
- Los Angeles Film Critics Association AwardLos Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 1996The 22nd Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards, honoring the best in film for 1996, were given in December 1996.-Winners:*Best Picture:**Secrets & Lies**Runner-up: Fargo*Best Director:**Mike Leigh – Secrets & Lies...
for Best Supporting ActorLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.This award has been awarded since 1977.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
(won for Primal Fear as well as his roles in Everyone Says I Love YouEveryone Says I Love YouEveryone Says I Love You is a 1996 American musical film that was written and directed by Woody Allen. The film features many stars, including Julia Roberts, Alan Alda, Edward Norton, Drew Barrymore, Gaby Hoffmann, Tim Roth, Goldie Hawn, and Natalie Portman.Set in New York, Venice, and Paris, the...
and The People vs. Larry FlyntThe People vs. Larry FlyntThe People vs. Larry Flynt is a 1996 American biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman about the rise of pornographic magazine publisher and editor Larry Flynt, and his subsequent clash with the law. The film stars Woody Harrelson, Courtney Love, and Edward Norton.The film was written by...
) - Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 1996The 17th Boston Society of Film Critics Awards honored the best filmmaking of 1996. The awards were given on 13 December 1996.-Winners:*Best Film:**Trainspotting*Best Actor:**Geoffrey Rush – Shine*Best Actress:...
for Best Supporting ActorBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
(won for Primal Fear as well as his roles in Everyone Says I Love You and The People vs. Larry Flynt) - Chicago Film Critics Association AwardChicago Film Critics Association Awards 1996The 9th Chicago Film Critics Association Awards honored the finest achievements in 1996 filmmaking.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Billy Bob Thornton - Sling Blade*Best Actress:**Frances McDormand - Fargo*Best Cinematography:**The English Patient...
for Most Promising Actor (but lost to Cuba Gooding, Jr. for Best Supporting ActorChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...
) - Kansas City Film Critics Circle AwardKansas City Film Critics Circle Awards 1996The 31st Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the finest achievements in 1996 filmmaking, were given in 1997.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Billy Bob Thornton – Sling Blade*Best Actress:**Frances McDormand – Fargo...
for Best Supporting ActorKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActorThe Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor is an award given by the Kansas City Film Critics Circle to honor the best achievements in acting.-1960s:-1970:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:*...
Norton was nominated for
- Academy Award69th Academy AwardsThe 69th Academy Awards were dominated by movies produced by independent studios, financed outside of mainstream Hollywood, leading to 1996 being dubbed "The Year of the Independents". All but one of the nominees for Best Picture were low-budget independent movies The 69th Academy Awards were...
for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
Edward Norton (lost to Cuba Gooding, Jr.Cuba Gooding, Jr.Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's 1996 film Jerry Maguire, and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's 1991 film Boyz n the Hood.-Early life:Gooding was born...
, who won for his role in Jerry MaguireJerry MaguireJerry Maguire is a 1996 American romantic comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. It was written, co-produced, and directed by Cameron Crowe...
) - British Academy Film Award50th British Academy Film AwardsThe 50th BAFTA Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on 29 April 1997, honoured the best films of 1996.Anthony Minghella's The English Patient won the award for Best Film. Secrets & Lies won the "Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film"...
for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting RoleBest Actor in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...
(lost to Paul ScofieldPaul ScofieldDavid Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
depiction of Judge Thomas DanforthThomas DanforthThomas Danforth was a judge for the 1692 Salem witch trials in early colonial America.-Early life:He was born in Framlingham, Suffolk, England as the eldest son of Nicholas Danforth and Elizabeth Symmes...
in The Crucible) - National Society of Film Critics AwardNational Society of Film Critics Awards 1996The 31st National Society of Film Critics Awards, given by the National Society of Film Critics on 5 January 1996, honored the best in film for 1996.-Best Picture::1. Breaking the Waves2. Secrets & Lies3. Dead Man-Best Director::...
for Best Supporting ActorNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting ActorThe National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor is an annual film award given by the National Society of Film Critics.The awards was given for the first time in 1968 .-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:...
(lost to co-winners Martin DonovanMartin DonovanMartin Donovan is an American stage and film actor. He has had a long collaboration with the director Hal Hartley, appearing in many of his films, including Trust , Surviving Desire , Simple Men , Flirt , Amateur , and The Book of Life...
and Tony ShalhoubTony ShalhoubAnthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
, for their roles in in The Portrait of a LadyThe Portrait of a Lady (film)The Portrait of a Lady is a 1996 film adaptation of Henry James's novel The Portrait of a Lady directed by Jane Campion.The film stars Nicole Kidman, Barbara Hershey, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Martin Donovan, Shelley Duvall, Richard E...
and Big NightBig NightScott and Tucci won the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best New Director. Tucci and Tropiano won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay...
, respectively) - MTV Movie Award for Best Villain (lost to Jim CarreyJim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
's portrayal of the title character in The Cable GuyThe Cable GuyThe Cable Guy is a 1996 black comedy film, directed by Ben Stiller, and starring Jim Carrey and Matthew Broderick. The film also features Leslie Mann, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson...
)