Grade (B-)
A surprisingly compelling courtroom drama that entertains with a strong performance from Reeves.
“THE WHOLE TRUTH” stars; Keanu Reeves, Renée Zellweger, Gabriel Basso and is directed by Courtney Hunt. The premise of this courtroom drama follows a lawyer who takes the case of defending a teenager accused of killing his father, a family he coincidentally has a past with.
I didn’t know much about this one prior to watching but if you have read my reviews you may already know I love a good crime-drama, I’m also a fan on Keanu Reeves so I took a shot, now let’s get into it. This was a surprisingly entertaining film. Was it amazing, no, but it tells a rather intriguing story, that has a nice pace, and doesn’t overload itself with subplots.
The story plays out much like a case from “Law & Order” and with an abundance of courtroom time, I was surprised the dialogue was able to hold up and weave a compelling case with many unknowns. There were some nice twists and turns, a rather solid effort in filling in the blanks through flashbacks, ones that do a great job of giving the viewer pieces of information as needed.
Keanu Reeves was pretty damn good as well. For all people say about him he does have some acting skill and he has developed some range over the years. He was believable as an attorney and carried this film on his shoulders after it was confirmed he stepped into the role days before shooting, after Daniel Craig dropped out.
But I did really enjoy Reeves in this movie, he gave the needed effort to feel the part and despite the film not being amazing, he was subtly very, very good in this role. As for the rest of the cast, ehh, they were serviceable. Jim Belushi was pretty believable in his smaller role as the dead father who was played out in the flashbacks. He certainly gave his character the personality needed to convey a man that was very unlikable and his performance delivered exactly what the plot needed.
As for Zellweger, she was solid for what the film needed. Her performance was serviceable, it felt a little common for the role and she was almost too big of a name for the role given her additions to the story were minimal. The price tag for her enlistment to the cast could have been better served in casting the teenager the plot revolves around.
But there was enough good in this movie to certainly make it worth a watch if you like a courtroom crime-drama. The story is surprisingly complete with some nice twists and moments of misdirection to keep the unpredictability enjoyably high. This was not a blow your socks off courtroom drama, and may not have the most re-watch value, but I really enjoyed it.
Time: 93 min
MPAA Rating: R (For language and some violence including a sexual assault)