…And Justice for All.

Directed by Normal Jewison, …And Justice for All. follows Baltimore lawyer Arthur Kirkland (Al Pacino) as he attempts to defend a series of clients over a several month period. Filmmaker Jewison, working from Valerie Curtin and Barry Levinson’s screenplay, delivers an unabashedly episodic drama that benefits substantially from Pacino’s persistently electrifying performance, as the actor’s completely convincing, impressively lived-in turn as the sympathetic protagonist effectively anchors the proceedings and carries it through its sporadic less-than-enthralling stretches – with Pacino’s top-notch efforts certainly matched by an eclectic (and stacked) roster of such periphery players as Jeffrey Tambor, John Forsythe, and Jack Warden. (The latter, cast as a loose-cannon judge, is especially compelling and engaging here.) It’s clear, as well, that …And Justice for All.‘s success is due in no small part to its proliferation of overtly engrossing digressions and sequences, including a pair of heartbreaking subplots detailing Arthur’s efforts at defending falsely-accused individuals, which undoubtedly goes a long way towards compensating for and smoothing over the periodic missteps within the busy narrative (eg Arthur’s perilous helicopter flight with Warden’s character). By the time the justifiably iconic (and palpably spellbinding) finale rolls around, …And Justice for All. has cemented its place as a slightly erratic yet predominantly rewarding endeavor that boasts one of Pacino’s very best performances.

***1/2 out of ****

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