“Primal Fear” is an intelligent thriller with some very strong performances. The film is very psychologically disturbing and as a result, I found that some of the violent and sexual imagery was unnecessary because the film does not require them.

In “Primal Fear”, Martin Vail (Richard Gere “Chicago”, “Pretty Woman”) is a hotshot lawyer in Chicago and he seems to get a buzz from defending some of the worst criminals in the city. When a Catholic priest (Stanley Anderson “Armageddon”) is murdered, all the evidence seems to point to a seemingly harmless altar boy (Edward Norton “American History X”, “Red Dragon”). Vail jumps on the case, sure that this will be the most sensational murder trial of the year.

Richard Gere is good as Vail. The movie actually allows us to realise how complex this lawyer character is and it’s a nice touch because the film could have easily made him simplistic. Edward Norton is fantastic as Aaron. Norton gives one of his best performances and he is very convincing (in ways that I cannot explain without giving away too much). The interactions between Gere and Norton are pretty good. Laura Linney (“Congo”) is really good as the prosecutor. Frances McDormand (“Fargo”) and John Mahoney (“Barton Fink”) also have roles here but they are fairly forgettable. The characters that are you going to remember are Vail and Aaron.

“Primal Fear” makes the mistake of showing us gore and some twisted sexual content, we do not need them in a film where the performances are so effective. Edward Norton deserves a lot of credit for his performance and he helps make this film worth watching. The twist ending is very clever and allows the film to end on a real high note. This is a good film that could have been great.