Arka Mukhopadhyay
Gregory Hoblit’s 1996 courtroom thriller ‘Primal Fear’ plunges the audience into a labyrinthine story fraught with twists, turns, and sudden reversals of fortune. The story begins with the murder of an archbishop in Chicago. A boy with blood on his hands is taken into custody. Celebrity defense attorney Martin Vail jumps on to defend the accused, and further probing into the case unearths sinister secrets behind respectable faces in the institution. The crux of the story is the eternal struggle between the state’s machinery and the subject’s machinations. You may want to know whether the story is based on an actual case. Well, let us further probe into the matter.
Is Primal Fear Based on A True Story?
No, ‘Primal Fear’ is not based on a true story. However, the story feels jolly realistic with its nuanced depiction of the legal system and a strong dynamic between the cast ensemble. The film is directed by Gregory Hoblit of ‘Fallen’ fame in his film directorial debut, who honed the film from a script penned by Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman (who later created acclaimed shows such as ‘Ray Donovan’). The script, in turn, was modeled upon the eponymous novel by Atlanta-based photojournalist and novelist William Diehl.
‘Primal Fear,’ the sixth book by the novelist, like the film adaptation, is centered on Aaron Stampler, the altar boy who becomes the major suspect in an archbishop murder. But telling the story while retaining its former structure proved somewhat challenging for the cast and crew. Like the final exposé, some sections were arduously long in writing, and the director encouraged actors to improvise the scene. By sticking to only the crux of the story, Richard Gere and Edward Norton cut down the final sequence from six pages to a manageable couple. As a result, the sequence was crisper and more direct.
The actors took some liberty with their characters. Edward Norton sways in his motion picture debut. He was selected from among 2,100 people who auditioned for a role; the producers originally thought of Leonardo DiCaprio. Many young actors, including Matt Damon, vied for the role but were turned down. Edward Norton’s character Aaron is the subject the movie is centered on, and Aaron seemingly suffers from a precarious dissociative condition called multiple personality disorder (dissociative identity disorder). Edward Norton adlibbed some of the details since they were not in the original plot. The stuttering is his own touch, as is the clapping of the final sequence.
Norton would again be type-casted in similar roles in ‘Fight Club’ (1999) and ‘The Incredible Hulk’ (2008). Norton does a brilliant job donning the garb of Aaron Stampler, keeping the audience guessing till the very last moment. However, the audiences would perhaps be shocked to know that the depiction of the identity disorder has some flaws. Aaron allegedly has only one alternative personality, which is a rare case in aberrant psychology. But the flaw may be deliberate since the final revelation suggests a more prominent possibility of psychopathy in Aaron’s character. Almost as narcissistic as Martin, Aaron takes pride in his dual killings.
The chemistry between the characters is just right, and the courtroom sessions are quite realistic too. But there are some minor exceptions. In the early moments of the case, the judge and other characters state that once a plea is set in motion, it cannot be changed. However, it is quite possible to change a plea in the middle of trial, given the appeal stands on solid grounds. The blood on Aaron’s body in the early scenes is also quite off since they are stark red instead of a more realistic brown rust. Therefore, the story does not hold enough merit to move past the realm of fiction. Therefore, you should first take it as entertainment. But as fiction, it achieves what it attempts, becoming a scathing character study of a criminal mind.
Read More: Where Was Primal Fear Filmed?
