Reversal of Fortune Page #6

Synopsis: Alan Dershowitz a brilliant professor of law is hired by wealthy socialite Claus von Bulow to attempt to overturn his two convictions for attempted murder of his extremely wealthy wife. Based on a true story the film concentrates not on the trial like other legal thrillers, but on the preparatory work that Dershowitz and his students put in as they attempt to disprove the prosecution's case and achieve the Reversal of Fortune of the title.
Director(s): Barbet Schroeder
Production: Warner Home Video
  Won 1 Oscar. Another 12 wins & 16 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.3
Metacritic:
93
Rotten Tomatoes:
94%
R
Year:
1990
111 min
1,236 Views


- Well, f*** you.

F*** you, man!

I'm glad we understand one another.

It's easy to forget all this

is about me, lying here.

To most of you, my name means "coma".

My second marriage means

"attempted murder".

Everything before, everything beautiful,

does not exist in the public mind.

No one thinks of how I loved

my children. Look at Cosima.

And Alex, of course. And Ala.

And certainly no one cares about Claus,

the way he was when

I fell in love with him.

When Claus and I first met,

I was married to the dashing young

Prince Alfred Eduard Friederich

Vincenz Martin Maria von Auersberg.

It was 1964, seven years

into my first marriage.

It seems that my first husband,

Alfie, as he was called,

had vowed to be unfaithful

with every pretty girl in Europe.

He was having quite a success.

And so... I was unfaithful with Claus.

Psst.

Wildly unfaithful.

Happy memories.

But it's not the passion

I remember most.

It's the tenderness.

Good God, what's that?

Just one of Frank's pets.

Oh, my God.

Come on, silly.

I never liked people much, not as a rule.

But Claus was somehow different.

Not a normal person, I guess.

It's all right. Do it again.

Give him some more.

One of those things you never forget.

Of course, now he lives

in my apartment, my bedroom,

my bed.

Cold, isn't it? Cold and brutish,

and the way of the world.

Looking at him now,

the issue seems simple.

Is he the devil?

If so, can the devil get justice?

And all this legal activity...

is it in Satan's service?

"Sunny von Bulow was totally vulnerable

to Claus von Bulow"?

- Can't argue with that.

- But it's speculation, exaggeration.

- You keep working on it.

- Totally inflammatory!

OK, good. Let's go over this.

OK, we went over it once.

I just want you to see if it...

Oh, sh*t. What is this? Illegal search?

A technicality, a guilty man's argument.

This is different. Usual Fourth Amendment

case, you're trying to exclude evidence.

Same thing here.

No, this search destroyed evidence!

No fingerprints, no inventory.

What's left hurts Claus,

but the state has to...

The cops tested the drugs

from the illegal search.

- Yes.

- And we are saying that that test

constituted a second illegal search.

- There are precedents.

- I know there are. I'm not debating that.

- What I'm trying to do...

- You're debating me, personally. Why?

I'm debating strategy.

I'm not debating you.

We're all on the same team, aren't we?

I don't know. We seem to be.

- Then why don't I feel it?

- I thought this was professional.

- It was.

- That's bullshit, Alan!

I asked you to work on this case

because I think you are a good lawyer.

You too, but you give all you have to the

law and forget the people you care about.

My clients are the people

that I care about.

- Obviously.

- What I care about,

all I f***in' care about is this!

This case!

And making the best possible appeal

that we're capable of doing, OK?

You can make your argument better.

You know that! I know that!

So why don't you just do it

and cut all the bullshit?

You always have to have

the last word, don't you?

What?

We're gonna lose.

Why do you think this case

fascinates people?

Cos one time or other, every man is

driven crazy by his wife, and in his heart,

he wants to do exactly

what Claus is accused of.

Kill her in some sly, silent way

that can't be detected.

Claus is a scapegoat.

Someone has to suffer for the sin

that we all wanna commit.

Alan, that's ridiculous.

It's ridiculous. You're right.

- What have you got?

- Prosecution's case is based on a theory.

The needle in the bag, insulin

on the needle, insulin in her blood.

Right, right, right. OK, fine.

In Derek, this Rhode Island

Supreme Court, these same judges,

said that, in a case

based on circumstantial theory,

the case falls apart

if any part of the theory is weak.

If there's a weak link,

then you throw the whole chain out?

Exactly.

Peter, that's good. That's very good.

- Oh, yeah, this is good.

- Thank you.

What do you want me to do now?

I want you to find as many

alternative theories as possible.

Hey! Come on.

There's only seven days left.

Dersh! You'd better come downstairs.

Hey, Dersh. Sorry to get you out of bed.

- What do you want? More money?

- Can you get more?

Can I have a glass of water, please?

No. The reason I'm here...

my affidavit is inaccurate.

Great. Just what I need right now.

- It's slow.

- Yeah.

I left something out,

something incredibly important.

Remember I gave Alex's drugs

to a woman at Clarendon Court?

Yeah. So?

That b*tch was definitely

Sunny von Bulow.

David... this is bad.

It looks bad. I've met with you

five times now, and all of a sudden...

No, it's not sudden.

I think I always knew, but I became

convinced by staring at pictures of her.

We can't use your affidavit unless

it's truthful. Are you sure this time?

I swear... on the body

and soul of my mother.

Poor woman.

Put in this change, and make him

go over every word of the affidavit.

Uh... can I use your men's room?

- More money?

- Can you get more?

If Claus had injected her, he would've

thrown away the needle, right?

Sure. If he threw away the insulin,

why keep the needle?

- Claus is strange, but he ain't stupid.

- He is arrogant.

- Is that a crime?

- Sometimes.

Why are we even discussing this?

It's obvious:
the kids framed him.

Whoa! You changed your tune.

A frame-up doesn't mean he's innocent.

The kids could've framed the guilty man.

Dersh! Telephone!

It's Peter Macintosh.

Yeah.

Do you know what it is?

OK.

Word in Rhode Island is that the state

can't lose. Got an ace up their sleeve.

What is it?

He's gonna try to find out.

- All right, my friend.

- Friend? I like that.

Nothing personal.

OK, no students, no witnesses.

Second coma:
let's hear it.

Strange as it may seem now,

in retrospect...

OK, Claus, cut the bullshit.

December 20, 1980.

Sunny was unwell.

We'd been arguing all afternoon.

I'd been offered a new position

in the oil business,

which would've meant

my spending some time in Europe.

The discussion must've escalated

because I went to talk to the children.

This will bring 50,000 gold florin

from any rebels worth the name.

- 50,000 florin?

- That's a pretty good take.

- Let's vote on it! All those in favor...

- If you'll forgive my interruption...

I... I've something to tell you both.

We're heading for

the best pirate days ever.

I...

It looks as if... as though Mummy

and I are going to have to split up,

because my work is something

she cannot tolerate.

Mummy says things like that,

but she always gets over it.

Yes, but this has been

going on for too long.

I'm going to Europe in the new year.

This will probably lead to a split.

Oh.

It's all right. She'll get over it.

Alex says you said that the next day.

Is anything more absurd than announcing

your intention to divorce a woman

who's just fallen into a coma?

No. That evening everything

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Nicholas Kazan

Nicholas Kazan (born September 15, 1945) is an American screenwriter, film producer and director. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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