A film with good basics but a little tasteless.
1. The whole film is run through by the narration of lawyer James, which seems to be James' point of view, but sometimes there are prisoner Henry's point of view (inverted shots, deliberately shaken shots to show Henry's distorted personality, etc.), and sometimes James' point of view (yes). Henry's observation), sometimes the viewpoint of the supporting cast (James girlfriend, the jury), and sometimes the omniscient viewpoint (multiple overhead shots).
2. The protagonist is unknown. It feels the same as "Shawshank", although the story is told by others, but in fact the protagonist should be the protagonist of the story. But in this film, James and Henry both have their own theatrical needs, with James winning his case to get justice and Henry free from his fear of prison administrators. Judging from the humanitarian mirror language in the first half of the film (which is almost entirely hand-held), the protagonist should be Henry, but we find that the entire story is driven by James, and Henry is just passively reacting. I can't feel Henry's difficulty, but James' brilliance.
3. Deliberately. In many places, people can see what the director wants to express in what way, and then understand what the director wants to express, instead of naturally comprehending what the director wants to express. For example, the quick montage in tribute to "Citizen Kane": aerial shots of the cell, fixed shots, James from being far away from Henry at first, constantly approaching Henry, and finally the two come together.
4. The excess of elements. The plethora of viewpoints has already been mentioned above. In addition, the film's handheld photography and dramatic low-key photography have made the film have enough realism, plus the starring's awesome acting skills, it is really a wonderful story, but there are two or three simulated news clips and Street interview clips, which make the film seem a bit nondescript, superfluous.
In general, it is a touching story. The camera movement and photography are very solid, and the lens scheduling is also very rich, but the force is too much, and the front and rear halves are inconsistent (the mirror language in the first half is too rich, and the second half is It's too monotonous), and the ending also has a sense of haste and "fallen fairy".
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