REVERSAL OF FORTUNE. Directed by Barbet Schroedor; written by Nicholas Kazan; produced by Edward R. Pressman and Oliver Stone for Warner Bros. Starring Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver and Glenn Close. Rated R.
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There's nothing ordinary or ho-hum about Reversal of Fortune. Even though its main ideas—money doesn't insure happiness, the most obvious suspect isn't always guilty—are some of the oldest cliches in the book.
No, the movie makes them seem fresh and made-to-order for its darkly atmospheric retelling of the Von Bulow case. The acting is superb, the script imaginative and the production design impeccable.
The only strike against Reversal of Fortune is its depressing storyline and its unlikeable, though fascinating, characters.
Its not for all tastes, to be sure. But it is much more than just an Inquirer-like rehash of old tabloid headlines. It's a challenging mix of detective story, stepchildren's revenge, legal procedural, poor little rich girl, and who's the man behind the mask.
Depressing, but entertaining at the same time.
Claus von Bulow (Irons) is convicted of trying to murder his wife Sunny (Close). (She's still in a coma as this is written.) But he protests his innocence. Vilified in the media as a greedy monster, he retains Alan Dershowitz (Silver), a lawyer who champions lost causes.
Although the "real time" of the story deals only with the period between Claus' first trial and successful appeal, flashbacks give us a good deal of background on the lives of Claus and Sunny. "Flasharounds" make sure we see some of the same events and people from different points of view.
The emerging relationship between Claus and Dershowitz is as interesting as that between Claus and Sunny. On the one hand, we have fairly predictable dust-ups between working-class professor Dershowitz and idly rich Claus, made compelling by the fine performances of the actors, especially Irons.
One the other hand, there's Claus and Sunny, whose relationship, whose whole world, in fact, is almost surrealistic. Unbelievably wealthy, perfectly miserable and determined to keep up appearances, the couple seem to belong to another species than you and I.
But Reversal of Fortune makes it intriguing for us to play scientist and observe these unfortunate life forms in their natural habitat. Although under somewhat unnatural conditions.
November 21, 1990