  
The TrialMPAA Rating:
 for some thematic material and a disturbing image.Reviewed by: Jacob Airey Better than Average
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience:
Family Teens Adults
Genre:
Christian Drama Adaptation
Length:
1 hr. 30 min.
Year of Release:
2010
USA Release:
DVD: November 9, 2010
 
Relevant Issues
Justice
justice in the Bible Suicide
SUICIDE—What does the Bible say? Answer If a Christian commits suicide, will they go to Heaven? Answer Pain and suffering
Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer What about the issue of suffering? Doesn’t this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer Does God feel our pain? Answer Did God make the world the way it is now? What kind of world would you create? Answer
“A lawyer ready to die takes one final case… the trial of his life.” Synopsis: “After the horrific death of his wife and two sons, suicide seems to be the only escape for small town attorney Kent ‘Mac’ McClain… until he’s assigned a capital punishment case that begins to transform his life and those around him forever. Review“The Trial” is based on the novel by Robert Whitlow published by Thomas Nelson. The story is about a suicidal lawyer, Mac (Matthew Modine), who, just before he is about to take his life, gets a phone call. It is from a local judge who wants him to take on one last case. The case is about the murder and attempted rape of an innocent college aged girl. The accused is a young, former Marine, Pete Thomason (Randy Wayne—“To Save A Life”), who has no memory of the events surrounding the murder. Did this young man kill his girlfriend, or is there a conspiracy behind the case that no one can seem to find? Can Mac take on the dead girl’s rich and powerful father, who wants Pete executed for allegedly committing the murder? Gary Wheeler’s epic retelling of this book makes a John Grisham-style courtroom drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat and keep you guessing. The movie is almost completely clean. There are a few instances of discussing of drug use. There is a scene where Mac has a flashback to a car accident that took away his whole family, but the scene takes place after the crash. There is a little violence involving gunfire. There is no foul language and no sexual content at all, thus proving that you can make a good movie and keep it clean. 
The movie references the Book of Ecclesiastes famous quote, “a time of healing.” Mac is definitely going through his time of mourning, but with help from his friends, both old and new, he discovers his time of healing. The movie shows God as the source of healing, and indeed He is. Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” God cares for you, and He wants you to lay your burdens at the foot of the cross. Christian producer Gary Wheeler has done an amazing movie. He is a talented director. I highly recommend “The Trial” to all of you who love courtroom dramas and suspense dramas. You will love and enjoy it. Violence: Minor / Profanity: None / Sex/Nudity: Minor See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.   Positive
none Negative
Negative—Hoping for a clean John Grisham style flick, my husband and I rented “The Trial.” From the opening scene I knew we had a flop on hand. The foreshadowing is cheesy and beyond obvious. There’s almost no background music through the entire movie. Little to no character development and school play acting talent. The young man acting the accused victim couldn’t figure out how to look innocent and slightly troubled—he looked constipated and confused. It was short of anything close to a plot that a slightly imaginative adult could conjur up in less time than it took for this movie to prove it was going now where, and slowly at that. The script was lame, and “meaningful gazes” between characters did nothing but make us laugh and think, “no script, no plot, no talent…”
True: it was clean and morally inoffensive. We found it embarassingly devoid of intelligent design. I don’t intend to be needlessly critical. I would not recommend this movie; its only positive aspect is the lack of sex, language or violence but you can get that from a game of Monopoly. Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½ —LE, age 27 (USA) |
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