The Trials of Cate McCall
| The Trials of Cate McCall | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Karen Moncrieff |
| Produced by |
Eric Karten Karen Moncrieff Marc Bienstock Peter Schafer |
| Written by | Karen Moncrieff |
| Starring |
Kate Beckinsale Nick Nolte Clancy Brown |
| Music by | Peter Nashel |
| Cinematography | Antonio Calvache |
| Edited by | Toby Yates |
Production company |
Pitbull Pictures Sunrise Films |
| Distributed by | Sierra/Affinity |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $0.25 million[2] |
The Trials of Cate McCall is a 2013 American drama film directed and written by Karen Moncrieff. The film stars Kate Beckinsale, Nick Nolte and Clancy Brown.
Plot
Cate McCall is an alcoholic lawyer who is in recovery, on probation, and estranged from her family. In order to regain custody of her young daughter and be reinstated to the bar, she accepts the pro bono appeal of a woman, Lacey, who has been convicted of murder. Aided by her assistant, Cate pulls out all stops to prove Lacey's innocence, as well as work on her own alcohol and work addictions. Cate becomes obsessed with the case, neglecting arranged time with her daughter while she successfully gets Lacey's conviction overturned. When Cate finds out that Lacey is guilty, she starts drinking again, causing her to further neglect her daughter. Cate returns to her old job at a high-profile law firm, and purposefully torpedoes her own client's case in the middle of a trial. Cate then takes multiple illegal actions to put Lacey back in prison. Cate gives evidence to the prosecutor who can convict Lacey, then conspires with the prosecutor; the two of them agree to keep it a secret so that she won't be disbarred, which would deny him the ability to use the evidence that he should not have. Cate does not recuse herself from Lacey's trial – though she does blackmail the original judge, who previously ruled in Lacey's favour, to recuse himself. The prosecutor, exercising prosecuterial misconduct, does not recuse himself from the case either. Cate's overt acts of fraud, conspiracy, blackmail and misconduct enable her to get Lacey re-convicted. Cate's reward for her illegal actions is to be granted shared custody of her daughter.
Cast
- Kate Beckinsale as Cate McCall
- Nick Nolte as Bridges
- Clancy Brown as Randall Brinkerhoff
- David Lyons as Josh
- Mark Pellegrino as Detective Robert Welch
- James Cromwell as Justice Jamison Sumpter
- Isaiah Washington as Wilson George
- Anna Anissimova as Lacey
Production
The filming of the The Trials of Cate McCall began on May 16, 2012 in Los Angeles.[3][4]
Release
Distribution
The 2012 production was not released in the United States until 2014. In June 2012 Sierra/Affinity acquired the international distribution rights to the film.[5]
Box office performance
The Trails of Cate McCall performed poorly, showing total box office revenue, from foreign markets, of less than $250,000.[2]
Critical response
The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes shows that The Trails of Cate McCall has not received any reviews from critics.[6] Fan reviews on the site show that only 35% liked the film.[6]
References
- ↑ "THE TRIALS OF CATE MCCALL". BBFC.
- 1 2 "The Trials of Cate McCall". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
- ↑ "Kate Beckinsale, Nick Nolte Start Work On ‘The Trials Of Cate McCall’". deadline.com. 16 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ↑ "The Trials of Cate McCall to Begin Filming Today". hollywood.com. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- ↑ "Sierra/Affinity Picks Up Global Sales For ‘Cate McCall’". deadline.com. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
- 1 2 "The Trails of Cate McCall". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2016-11-28.