Reverse drama.

Josiane 2022-03-22 09:02:46

The whole movie looks sloppy from the start. From the 180-degree shift in the heroine's attitude towards CJ, the reassignment of CJ's job, the lack of groundwork for the charges against Mark Hunter, including the death of his friend, everything seemed rushed.
The first half hour of the film is all about how CJ and his friends create traps, how to arrange them, and how to expose Mark Hunter's ugly face. The whole process of shooting is simple and clear. The heroine is hunted down after the heroine proves that the cigarette butts on that photo were forged and added to the photo after the fact. In these few shots, the police who arrested CJ appeared. He claimed to be a stalker. But the film does not introduce why the policeman is stalking criminals, which makes the film even more inexplicable.
After that, the film directly used the narration to explain the development of the story, making the whole film seem anticlimactic.
In the last ten minutes, the heroine found out through TV news, photos, and CJ's previous video tapes that the real murderer was the man sleeping beside her. The transformation of this plot is very similar to that of South Korea. Reverse drama. At the last minute, overturn all previous settings. In my opinion, the plot has neither foreshadowing nor a good follow-up, which makes it a bit absurd. And how exactly did the heroine know that the dead prostitute was blackmailing CJ? Is there really such a thing as telepathy? This episode is really disappointing.
At the end of the film, the heroine had tears in her eyes and gave the film a "finishing touch": fuck you. It really makes people feel emotional about this film again, how ridiculous. It's a really weird line.
This movie is so disappointing.

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Extended Reading

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt quotes

  • C.J. Nicholas: How far would you go for the story of your lifetime?

    Corey Finley: I mean, you know me, farther than far.

    C.J. Nicholas: Would you risk everything?

    Corey Finley: Depends on what you mean by everything.

    C.J. Nicholas: Aw, everything means everything, including going to prison.

    Corey Finley: You're kidding.

    C.J. Nicholas: Never been more serious in my entire life.

    [He sips his beer]

    Corey Finley: Jesus. I mean, I don't know.

    C.J. Nicholas: I'm talking about the biggest story we've ever dreamed of. I'm talking about the Pulitzer Prize!

    Corey Finley: You're also talking about prison.

    C.J. Nicholas: Just hear me out. Okay, when I'm done, you say no, we don't do it. Your choice. Of course, it will mean you will spend the rest of your numbered days producing tookie tidbits from a minor league field. And it'll also mean you have no scrotal sack.

    Corey Finley: We gonna cut to commercial before we do Final Jeopardy?

    C.J. Nicholas: Right, cut to the chase. We both know that Hunter is bringing in fake DNA to get those convictions.

    Corey Finley: Right.

    C.J. Nicholas: We don't know exactly how, but we know that he's doing it.

    Corey Finley: Mm-hmm.

    C.J. Nicholas: You with me?

    Corey Finley: So far, yeah.

    C.J. Nicholas: Well, there's one way we can prove it.

    Corey Finley: And is this the risky part?

    C.J. Nicholas: Not yet. First we have to wait for the right murder.

    [beat]

    Corey Finley: What do you- The right murder?

    C.J. Nicholas: The murder of some anonymous person, okay? Some junkie or hooker where the cops have no suspect and they really don't give a shit. And there's gotta be some vague physical evidence, like, uh, like a tire track or a footprint. Not a lot. And it's gotta happen when I have no alibi.

    Corey Finley: Right, who needs an ali- Why can't you have one?

    C.J. Nicholas: I can't have an alibi because that's when we plant the circumstantial evidence.

    Corey Finley: We what?

    C.J. Nicholas: We plant enough circumstantial evidence that points it to me.

    Corey Finley: You're shitting me.

    C.J. Nicholas: I shit you not. We not only plant it, you document us planting it. You tape me doing it, each time with the day's newspaper in the shot. That way we can prove that the evidence came after the fact.

    Corey Finley: [worried] Aren't there laws against this kind of thing?

    C.J. Nicholas: More than one. Anyway, enough circumstantial evidence, and District Attorney Mark S. Hunter won't be able to resist. He'll arrest me, he'll indict me and he'll put me on trial. And not only will he have a high profile case, he will have a truly sexy, juicy, front page lead story that'll tie up the nomination for governor. And he'll have a white defendant. That, he won't be able to resist.

  • Manager: [walking around his store with Ella] The till is linked directly to my inventory. When I scan the barcode, it logs the product and it's manufacturer's number.

    Ella Crystal: Right, so you can match any receipt with an item that's been purchased?

    Manager: Yep, as long as it has the manufacturer's label. But I already told you guys this.

    Ella Crystal: [surprised] You spoke to someone from my office?

    Manager: Yeah.

    Ella Crystal: Do you remember who?

    Manager: Yes, he said he was the DA.