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Starring James Stewart, Lee Remick, James Stewart, George C. Scott. After spending four year of time attending college in a tiny hamlet of trailer parks in western Michigan known collectively as Kalamazoo, I have become quite familiar with the reputations of many different places throughout the state.No one region, with the possible exception of Holland (home of the ugly Hope College), had the sheer quantity of detrimental and down right unpleasant things said about it as the upper peninsula (U.P.). From what I was told, other than alcohol, snowmobiles, and the occasional lost Eskimo, there is nothing in the U.P. I was often regaled with tales of people who live in the U.P. about the four hour drives to Taco Bell or how one can ice skate on Lake Superior in July. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out that Anatomy of a Murder was set, and shot, entirely in the northern peninsula of Michigan. This film is hailed by many critics as the best courtroom drama of all time. And to a certain extent it delivers on this lofty promise. Anatomy of a Murder isn't like the more recent law films like Presumed Innocent, A Few Good Men, or The Client, because it really doesn't spend much of its 161 minutes delving into, or exploring the murder, or mystery behind the trial. There are no sub-plots or romantic interaction of any type; the relationships between the main characters pretty much stay the same from beginning to end. This film is the story of an American soldier whose on trial for killing his wife's rapist, and from that it does not diverge. This was new to me and, in a way, interesting to see. Since there are no sub-plots to follow or to take up screen time, director Otto Preminger is able to show the audience James Stewart and his legal opposition, played by George C. Scott, filing petitions at the county courthouse, talking with different psychiatrists, and interviewing potential witnesses. This is new material to most people, and in that respect, engaging at first. However, after several interviews and filings, this goes from engaging to boooooooooring. Stewart and Scott turn in phenomenal performances, both were nominated for Oscars that year, and Preminger's direction is solid, but thanks to a completely unorthodox jazz score by Duke Ellington, and the tedious nature of the script, Anatomy of a Murder suffers slightly. This is a good film that could definitely have benefited from some additional editing in post-production.
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