Find Me Guilty - Movie Review

In 1987, an extensive investigation into the activities of the Lucchese crime family led to charges being filed against most of the key members of the gang, leading to the prosecution of 20 different men, each represented by their own council. That is, except for Giacomo "Jackie Dee" DiNorscio, a longtime Lucchese family "mechanic" implicated in everything from kidnapping to drug dealing. While Jackie Dee is obviously a common criminal and guilty of all he's charged with, he also has a fierce sense of loyalty to his colleagues, despite the fact his cousin Tony Companga previously tried to kill him out of fear he might talk. Sean Kierney, the prosecutor tackling the Lucchese Family case, tries repeatedly to persuade Jackie Dee to testify against his partners in exchange for leniency, but he stubbornly refuses. Tired of the way things are being handled, Jackie Dee informs family attorney Ben Klandis that he intends to represent himself in court; this seemingly suicidal move turns into an unexpected success as Jackie Dee's sense of humor and streetwise charm has a remarkable impact on the judge and jury.

The "true story" part of this film was very intriguing, especially since it stated that most of the testimony was lifted directly from the original transcripts. If that's true, it must have been one heck of an entertaining, yet long, trial. That pretty much sums up the movie as well - entertaining, but long. If you're looking for action, you won't get it here since it takes place almost entirely inside of a courtroom, but there's plenty of drama and even some comedy. However, it shouldn't have lasted 2 hours - I feel sorry for the people involved with the real trial since it took over 600 days. Vin Diesel did a good job playing a goon turned lawyer, but it was weird seeing him with hair. The entire cast was very convincing and created a real courtroom drama.

Rating: 2.5 of 5 stars
Would I watch it again: No
Starring: Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Linus Roache, Ron Silver

I typically watch movies on Monday, Wednesday and Friday while riding the ACE Train from Tracy to Santa Clara. The opinions expressed are those of me, myself and I.