Lawyers on Film, Part Deux

Last week I referenced a post over at Concurring Opinions about great lawyer movies. A couple of things move me to discuss a couple of other flicks that might fit that category.

First, as the commenters pointed out, I completely overlooked . . . and Justice for All from my list. It earns a spot solely for Al Pacino's in-court freak out (the "this whole trial is out of order" speech). It slipped my mind because it's been a while since I've seen it and I can't really remember the rest of it.

Second, in the comments over at CO, A Man for All Seasons was mentioned. Oddly enough, that was recommended by one of my first-year profs in law school as a great lawyer movie. Even more oddly, it had risen to the top of my Netflix queue so I actually had a copy to watch last week. After watching it, I don't think I could rightly put it on my great lawyer movie list.

For those of you who haven't seen it, the film (based on a play of the same name) tells part of the story of the life of Sir Thomas More, an English lawyer and politician during the 16th Century. More is rightly famous for standing on principle against Henry VIII's goal of divorcing his first wife so he could marry his mistress (and hopefully sire a male heir). More's allegiance to his principles destroyed his career and ultimately led to his beheading as a traitor.

The film covers that part of More's life and is often seen as a case study of a man who will not compromise for political expediancy. As powerful a message as that is (and, sadly, all too relevant given the current administration), More's steadfastness comes not because of some overriding legal principle, but an overriding religious one. In fact, More appears to be quite the religious fanatic, placing the law of God (as dispensed by the Pope) as superior to the law of man. That's a dangerous worldview for a lawyer to hold, in my opinion. In addition, More's faith led him to persecute non-Catholics as heretics (burning some at the stake, no less). Leave it to the Catholic church to canonize the man.

So while the film itself is very good, the man portrayed in it is a religious nutball who just happens to be a lawyer. Which keeps it off my great lawyer movie list.