Death Benefit (1996)
Steven Keeney is a big corporate lawyer who decides to take on a small-time murder case to discover the true circumstances behind the death of a young girl. Virginia McGinnis is the one suspected of pushing the women off the cliff to collect on a small insurance policy. The further he goes into the case the more he reveals about the background of the suspect. Keeney finds support from others who also want to find out the truth behind the case.
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Reviews
Good start, but then it gets ruined
It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
I am from Kentucky, I went to a boarding school with the sister of the girl this movie is about. I remember when she found out that her sisters death was not an accident. That has been many years ago. We had lost touch for a few years, but I recently got back in touch with her. I actually talked to her about her sister tonight. Back in boarding school, she couldn't even talk about it. She did tell me that her mother was not portrayed correctly in this movie. She was not a good mother, and she was horrible to her daughter. I would say that if the writer of this movie did research with the family, then the mother was portrayed as she would want the world to know her as.
I agree with the earlier reviewer; she proves her acting ability, despite a thin script and bland dialogue. Peter Horton is also good, at least not the usual slick lawyer from a firm- (ergo; he is a sympathetic character!!) That is NOT an easy accomplishment, to portray a lawyer AND be a likable character.In fact, I will not even watch movies anymore about attorneys, courtroom dramas, etc. Writers, please take note after the Scott Peterson and Michael Jackson debacles last year, the phrase "courtroom drama" has been maxxed out, for at least the next ten years. That being said, this film was based on a true story, and there are minimal courtroom settings.The sociopath is portrayed by Carrie Snodgress, who also played opposite Steve Railsback in the movie "Ed Gein". She does an excellent job, as always. So watch the film for her performance- and for genuine acting, by a talented actor.
I'm confused. Is this a movie called `Death Benefit' that's about building a case in a homicide investigation, or is it a movie called `Family Neglect' about a professional man's responsibility to his family and his firm. Instead of staying focused on the true story, literally Every Other Scene is about how the protagonist is neglecting his insipid wife, his annoying son, his irritating secretary, or his stupid boss. All of these cardboard characters continually detract from what could have been a solid drama between two strong characters. Also, the director/editor keeps using quick-cut flashbacks in what I guess they think adds intensity, but the montage is so artlessly assembled, these only look like a student filmmaker's attempt to be arty.
I enjoyed both movies. Both are well acted. This one uses the real names of the lawyer and the evil mother. There's a book about Steven Keeney's quest for justice. In the other one, the focues is on the troubled relationship between the murdered daughter and her mother. The mother appears to be the driver behind finding the truth.