One of those studio flops that nobody talked about except for Jonathan Rosenbaum, who called it Lumet’s most entertaining feature and rated it one of the top films of the year:
What makes it for me so timely and relevant a satire is what it demonstrates about our unacknowledged complicity with criminals — how much we enjoy them and how much we forgive them for their crimes, at least if they put on a good show for us, regardless of what we claim. Lumet, who coscripted this subversive tale himself, forces the issue by making this thug so likable and the forces of law and order so corrupt that we constantly have to reflect upon what we’re actually buying into.
Vin is very likable indeed, and goes around shooting down criminal conspiracy charges by saying gee-whiz stuff like “I guess if you’re Italian you should be in prison,” while a big jazz soundtrack keeps the energy high. The lighting looked made-for-TV but maybe that’s the sacrifice for setting your entire story in government buildings.
Vin constantly defends Big Boss Nick (Alex Rocco of The Godfather and Eddie Coyle) even though the others have disowned Vin and think he’s tanking their case. Peter Dinklage is Nick’s lawyer semi-collaborating with Vin, Annabella Sciorra (Cop Land) is Vin’s wife, Linus Roache (Nolan-Batman’s dad) the prosecutor, and Ron Silver (Heat Vision & Jack) the judge.
