Find Me Guilty (2006)reviewed by Benn "Where's the Humanity?" Farrell
Based on the true story of Jackie DiNorscio, played by Diesel (The Pacifier), "Find Me Guilty" is about a mobster who defended himself in court for what would be the longest criminal trial in U.S. history. AS he and a room full of his neighborhood friends and colleagues are put on trial by way of the Ricco act, Jackie uses his Sixth Amendment right to win over the jury, shoot down prosecution witnesses on a more personal level and prove to the court he and his cronies are not gangsters but rather just 'GAG-sters.' Diesel proved himself in this performance with the little things only trained actors can provide. He really showed a high ability to put a role together. Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) was excellent as the top mob boss' lawyer and the voice of reason to DiNorscio. Thomas Roache (RFK) was also good as the assistant district attorney who served as lead prosecutor in the trial. The problem with the film is it asks the viewer to route for a handful of gangsters who are obviously guilty but trying to "work" the system by lying, fooling and in DiNorscio's case entertaining a jury. One of the most interesting aspects of this film was that most of the courtroom dialogue was taken from the transcripts of the actual trial. I think this would be a huge challenge for actors since people are trying to hide motivations in court, whereas it is the job of the screen writer(s) to show motivations without saying them. Director Lumet and the cast did a great job of putting these scenes together with believeable inner dialogue. Overall, the picture was very interesting and pretty entertaining, but it ran and felt long and had a load of clouded messages. I think "Find Me Guilty" is worth viewing for Diesel's performance alone. Benn - Where's the Humanity?
Sidney Lumet's latest project to hit big screen was very interesting, but outside of Vin Diesel's performance, "Find Me Guilty" will be quickly forgotten.