Law Abiding Citizen struck me as a film with a lot to say. It’s one of those movies that wants to do more than just entertain, more than just serve as a popcorn distraction. While that message may not always be prevalent, it is most certainly present and very apt, particularly considering some recent events. The basic premise is this: Gerard Butler plays a father whose wife was raped and murdered and daughter was murdered during a home invasion. Justice wasn’t served, so he takes it upon himself to get justice. If this sounds like a typical “revenge plot”, that’s because it is, however it has more substance than a pure revenge plot.
For instance, the rape and murder of the wife is shown, mostly, on screen. The film shows her being killed, and halfway shows the rape. The violence against the daughter takes place off screen, and is carefully never fully revealed, but there is more than a little suggestion that the girl faced the same fate as her mother. This kind of subtle hinting yet avoidance hasn’t been this effective since the original Nightmare on Elm Street. And that is big kicker for the film. Butler is unabashedly the bad guy, but you cannot help but love him, to root for him.
And that is the film’s strong point. Butler completely owns this role. I have been a fan of his work since Dracula 2000, and while 300 was good, this is a side of him not really seen before. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting this kind of character when I first heard of the film, but he plays brilliant and chilling in the kind of Anthony Hopkins Hannibal kind of way. Boy does it work. Butler draws your attention, the small things he does, the nonchalance, the confidence. You believe him, very clearly, as this mourning father pushed over the edge.
Jaime Foxx is just as good as he has been in recent films, if a little more predictable. His DA is, quite honestly, an unlikeable bastard for most of the film. He’s the kind of career justice worker who is more concerned with statistics than seeking fitting justice. Really, as Butler’s Clyde says at one point, “the whole justice system is rotten” and Foxx sums that enter statement up in one person for the majority of the film. But his transition from self-serving lawyer to a true proponent of fitting justice is not only fitting, it is believable.
The film is not long, clocking in at about an hour and forty minutes, so not a minute of it is really wasted. The movie starts off with a powerful scene, and ends with a powerfully evocative image. There are some sharks jumped, but for the most part, the plot is held together well and incredibly well imagined by Kurt Wimmer (the guy behind the utterly brilliant Equilibrium). The combination of Wimmer and F. Gary Gray’s direction brings the script to life in a way that evokes the real world hustle and bustle of Philadelphia put up against the life or death decisions being made in small, sequestered offices, and will get under your skin and really make you think.
An interesting note: originally the roles of Butler and Foxx were reversed. The resulting film would have been very different, and I have to say I am very glad they ended up cast they way it is.
Pros:
Very well acted.
Butler crafts an extraordinary character in Clyde Shelton.
The murders are inspired by Hostel/Saw, but much less torture-porn.
Cons:
There are a few sharks jumped.
While the opening is powerful, and there are many great scenes, there’s only a few really amazing visual scenes.
Overall Score: B+
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