I really believe that a majority of people that evaluate films on IMDb are mostly interested in action adventures. And if there's not enough action, they type negative review and give low star ratings here. There's nothing wrong with this film, and I liked it since this story has a moral compass. When people learn the virtues of an honest life, the message to viewers is beneficial. I liked all the characters, and they did a great job. If a human interest story is of interest to you, then please check out this film. I love Kate Beckinsale in this film, and she played a great villain in Total Recall as well.

Hard hitting story with bitter ironies. Outstanding performance by Kate Beckinsale who for whatever reason doesn't show up very often except to play a Vampire. Is it because she is mysteriously underrated? There were a few sleepy predictable moments in the "personal life" trials aspect (child custody, alcoholism) but Ms. Beckinsale and her supporting cast all delivered excellent performances. As to the rest, her solutions to the corrupt elements in the film were easily as interesting, if not more so, than the usual John Grisham fare. I found myself wanting to see more of this character. It wonder if it could make a go as a television series amidst Game of Thrones and superhero shows.

She's been in a lot of movies. She's gorgeous. She's even acted well in most of her movies, but this is the best acting I've seen from her. Courtroom drama. Pretty canned, but interesting watching Kate do her thing. The story wasn't that important to me, but Nick Nolte did a great job being himself. Lots of clichés in this, but it held my interest enough to stick with a plot that involved crooked cops, a tricky defendant, even a judge that was a creep. Everything else was okay as far as movie making goes. Decent cinematography, editing, music. Nothing spectacular. The directing held up, but the story itself lacked the punch I think it could have had if they showed more detail of what happened from testimony. I guess that falls on the director. She was a flawed attorney with child visitation issues. That was really the story. Redeeming herself. I think this is an average movie that Kate Beckinsale raises a notch or two. Definitely worth a DVD or download/stream look see.

I think nowadays there's a shortage of these kind of movies, the last good one was The Lincoln Lawyer (which is quite similar to this one). It's the same recipe again: let's add a little personal drama (Cate could lose her daughter due to her alcoholism), an almost impossible case (female murderer from death row appeals, and Cate gets to defend her), an old case, where the character made the wrong decision, and the courtroom drama is ready.But I think, this movie is using these "clichés" very well to create a good story. The main character has motivations, inner conflicts, and these are very well correlating with the main storyline and the whole message of the story. It's not something I should praise, but frankly, most movies are lacking this.Anyway, the courtroom case is interesting, both the mood and the pace of the movie are satisfying, so I think it's quite enjoyable and also makes you think. And last, but not least, Kate Beckinsale convinced me, that she's not a bad actress, she just needs a good character to play.If you liked Fracture or The Lincoln Lawyer, this one is for you.