The Trial (2010 film)

The Trial
Directed by Gary Wheeler
Produced by Gary Wheeler
Written by Mark Freiburger
Gary Wheeler
Robert Whitlow
Starring Matthew Modine
Randy Wayne
Bob Gunton
Robert Forster
Music by Rob Pottorf
Cinematography Tom Priestley
Edited by Jonathan Olive
Distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release dates
  • October 10, 2010
Country United States
Language English

The Trial is a 2010 drama film starring Matthew Modine. It is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Whitlow.

Plot

After his two sons and wife die in a horrific car crash, suicide seems to be the only escape for small town attorney Kent "Mac" McClain until he's assigned a capital punishment case involving the murder of the daughter of a powerful business man, in which the victim was drugged. All the odds seem stacked against McClain, and he loses the case. However, McClain manages to save the accused man's life by getting him off death row. At the end of the movie, a private investigator discovers that it was someone else who committed the murder and McClain's client is exonerated.

Cast

Production

Filming took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. Reception has been mostly positive, with Lawrence Toppelman of The Charlotte Observer saying in his review; "The actors are all comfortable in this familiar emotional territory. The low-key Modine seems most at home as the burned-out McClain, but he finally rises to the right level of passionate intensity by the end. Carey is both maternal and romantic, and Gunton – whose 30-year film career seems like an unbroken string of villains, most memorably in The Shawshank Redemption – is more subtle and interesting here than usual."

Awards

"The Trial" was awarded the Parents Television Council's Seal of Approval™. The PTC said:

"'The Trial' combines the best features of courtroom drama, murder mystery and character story. 'The Trial' is a powerful drama which shows the power of healing and hope."

References