Find Me Guilty (2006)

How sad is this?

Absolutely Fantastic

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I simply loved this movie. I am normally not a fan of vin diesel movies. However, his role and acting in this movie was superb. The plot was also beautifully written and the direction and presentation was great. However, there is a concern that the movie presents gangsters as quite normal.

Okay, if you're a fan of Vin Diesel you'll probably be expecting him to do his usual busting heads and driving fast cars routine. However, I get the impression he took this film for the reason that it doesn't include any of that.In fact, 99% of the film is set entirely in the courtroom. 'Find me Guilty' is based on a true story of the longest Mafia trial in American history and Vin Diesel plays the man accused of... well, pretty much every crime going. He decides to represent himself and what follows is everything from black comedy to drama.If you like Vin Diesel, you'll probably think that this film proves that he's a real actor and is more than just a hard man who can punch people. He is the highlight of the film, however, if you don't like him, you – like a fair few other detractors on the Internet – will pour scorn on his performance.I'm no die hard fan of Vin Diesel, but I thought he did really well as the fast-talking gangster accuse due to spend the rest of his life behind bars. It's one of those films that I enjoyed watching, but, based on the fact that the whole film is just people talking, I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again for quite a while.Action-packed, it is not. But fair play to Vin Diesel for trying to do more than just be cool (even if his hair piece is a little off-putting!).

When I found out that this was going to be a courtroom drama I had serious doubts in watching this movie. While I like the genre there are no real surprises you can throw in the script especially when it is based on a true story. But nothing prepared me for Vin Diesel. "Find me Guilty" is his best performance till date. And he really makes this movie stand out. He shows a range I haven't seen before in his previous movies. There were a lot of moments in the movie you feel for the guy. We know that he is a gangster and has done some awful things and still you root for the guy. His closing statement really does look like it came from the heart. After seeing this it puzzles me why Vin Diesel doesn't do more roles like this. Maybe because they rather see him doing action movies. The direction was also great and I should have known that since Sidney Lumet was the director. Lumet has a certain style where he blends comedy and drama in such a way that it makes you connect with the characters. Go see this movie!

The only good thing about this movie is Louie Prima singing "When Your Smilin'"Ron Silver plays a good heavy as the judge but the rest of it so bad. Why even make a movie about this? Are they just trying to tell the truth or are they saying that it's OK to be a gangster? I guess to be a member of a jury in New Jersey (and in California) you have to be dead from the neck up. Also to be a prosecutor in New Jersey, you have to be the same I guess. The truth is that the gangsters were the smart ones in this incident and they never got out of grade school. Avoid this movie like the plague.