Mind Explosion

Anatomy of a Murder

First comment that I must say: this is a long movie. 2 hours 40 minutes (of not-knowing what to trust and believe)! And there isn’t that much special effects, diversity in scenes, or action. But, I was actually on the edge of my seat for the most part. Why? Seriously, I asked myself after sitting through that long period. I guess it was the music, plot, dialogue, the not-knowing, and realism of a trial.

I truly enjoyed Duke Ellington’s soundtrack to this film. My first impressions were that his jazzy music set the mood of the film. Jazz fit well with this film because throughout the whole movie, no one knows who is right and who is wrong! And jazz provided the mood of feeling free, unattached to anything, corruption, rowdiness, untamed emotions, and slyness. I interpreted that Biegler knowing and playing jazz on the piano as a metaphor that he himself, isn’t necessarily conservative and just. Duke Ellington, in my opinion, did a great job at really fitting the music into the movie, rather than having to have the movie fit in with the music. It seemed that certain characters and scenarios had their own jazzy feel to it, such as how Mrs. Manion had her own sly saxophone flirtiness.
I also enjoyed seeing Duke Ellington himself as a character in the movie with his band. It gave me the impression that he was playing his music throughout the whole plot; as if his music is right there in the movie.
One humorous mistake I found was near the end. If one follows the music, we see that Biegler is not moving his hands on the piano, yet the music continues. It is quite obvious that Biegler doesn’t know piano (as an actor).

The plot and dialogue were amazing. Through the dialogue we, as the viewers, have to keep having our opinions because the movie doesn’t tell you what to think! Who is innocent, who is guilty??? And the dialogue was so captivating, because it seems as if we are a participating part of the jury. It was very intriguing when Biegler’s assistant makes a remark about juries and how diverse and complicated it is to make a unanimous decision. Was he talking about us, the viewers, whom had to sit through this whole 2 hr. plus, only to figure out that we know only as much as the jury in the movie?!!! I’m sure some people watching this movie were outraged and angry. Me myself, I enjoyed it and thought it was provocative.
So who is the protagonist? Who knows? Although Biegler seems like the “good guy”, we really don’t know. The prosecutors, although they were shown as “professionals” with mean/tricky personalities, they had a damn good point. At one point, it seems as if they are correct (where Mrs. Manion seems to break down in front of the courtroom). Althgouh Biegler seems like the good guy who holds the everlasting ideals of goodness and justice, he may have led us to believe lies that helped Mr. Manion to get away from murder! Did Mrs. Manion even get raped in the first place??? Wow.
So, is this a representation of law and justice? Is it just a battle between two lawyers who want to win and make money? …what a great film…