Name: Retro Film Review: Mistrial (1996)
Item: Mistrial
Rating: 40
Author: @drax

(source:tmdb.org)

Thanks to Hollywood films, most people in the world are more familiar with American than with their countries' criminal justice systems. They also believe (or believed until the recent global rise of anti-American sentiment) that American criminal justice system was superior. That belief was shared by many Americans, at least until O.J. Simpson trial, which had put that notion into doubt. This over- hyped trial has reflected itself in many of American courtroom dramas, including Mistrial, 1996 television film written and directed by Heywood Gould.

The protagonist of the film is Steve Donohue (played by Bill Pullman), police detective investigating murder of two police officers. Trail leads him to Eddie Rios (played by Jon Seda), community activist whose wife happened to be among the slain officers. The evidence mounts and Donohue is about to arrest Rios, but the operation turns into shootout during which some members of Rios' family accidentally die. The trial is overshadowed by controversy and judge, under enormous political pressure, makes most of the evidence inadmissible, thus guaranteeing Rios' acquittal. Donohue is so embittered with the verdict that he takes everyone in the courtroom hostage and demands that new trial, with proper evidence, be held.

Mistrial could have been exciting thriller, powerful courtroom drama and intelligent display of economic, racial, political, cultural and other realities that affect criminal justice in America. Unlike most of 1990s American films that deal with those subjects and usually take side of "oppressed minorities", Mistrial shows the frustrations of the "oppressors" - policemen who are helplessly watching all their efforts to make streets safer go down the drain. All opportunities were missed, and relatively low budget of cable production is not to blame. Direction by Heywood Gould is incredibly inept, and this is especially evident in shootout scenes. The acting by Bill Pullman, Jon Seda and Robert Loggia in rather thankless role of detective's sympathetic boss improves impression, but the audience would in the end conclude that Mistrial was one big miss.

RATING: 4/10 (+)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on December 23rd 2003)