

My Thoughts 

(i) The main protagonist is really great. He is convincing and compelling. 

(ii) The script is good, challenging us to think about our judicial system and legal issues. It questions whether we should be on the cautious side (by being safe rather than sorry) or whether we should be more forgiving (by awarding the benefit of doubt whenever warranted). At the end, there is a relevation by the protagonist, that the court is not about proving innocent and guilt, but rather a battle to find corroborating evidence. Although vastly different from this other film, Reversal of Fortune (1990) has also made a similar observation -- in Reversal of Fortune, the line went something like "the law has not proven he is innocent, but the evidence against him is insufficient." 

(iii) There is some contention about the length of the film. Some people think it is necessary so that one can feel the tedious, tiring, and trying process of court cases. However, I am not in support of that argument. Let me explain, a good director does not need to make one feel bored about the film in order to depict a boring life of its protagonist. Likewise, I thought the film is great, but it could be edited slightly so as to better move the film along. Also, I humbly thought it could have been an even more focused, serious and dramatic piece by removing some unnecessary comical/humorous moments that kind of break the mood. 

(iv) Most controversial has to be the ending. I believe a lot of people will leave the cinema discussing about the ending. Not revealing it here, I would say some prefer a sad ending while some prefer a happy ending. All that I want to say is ... I would have preferred the director to play around with the title and the ending ... In other words, even AFTER the film ends, it is NEVER made known to the audience whether he did it or he didnt do it. ... yup, it is for the protagonist to know and for the audience to guess ... ha ha ... I would prefer the ending voice to say something like ... In life, only you yourself know whether you did it or not ... 

4 stars out of 5