Murder was
the case
Kevin Bacon and Christian Slater come of age (again) in
courtroom drama Murder In the First, a story of revenge and the
fine line between justice and injustice
By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Murder In the First stars two of Hollywood’s favorites, known
more for wisecracking leading male roles than gritty realism. Kevin
Bacon draws the longer straw  he gets to be a torture victim.
Christian Slater plays his persevering young lawyer.
Director Marc Rocco’s film is based on the true story of an
almost-innocent man committed to Alcatraz, the toughest prison in
the United States. After a failed escape attempt, Henri Young
(Bacon) is mercilessly, systematically destroyed through solitary
confinement and inhuman treatment.
After three years in darkness with only enough space to lay
down, he is allowed to mingle with fellow prisoners again, and it
shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that when he gets the chance for
revenge he takes it.
We meet public defender James Stamphill (Christian Slater)
running after a missed cable car. It’s a quick metaphor for his
doggedness, a character trait that surfaces in abundance after he
is asked to defend Young.
Needless to say, the government is not happy about the adverse
publicity. Men in suits prowl the background and shrewd lawyers
scoff Stamphill’s chances for success. You have to give writer Dan
Gordon credit for providing no easy outs. Stamphill never gets that
"L.A. Law" moment of revelation in which a hard-to-spot gimmick
turns the tide in two lines of testimony. Instead Stamphill mucks
around the case, trying to get hardcore criminals to verbally
attack their captors. And of course, he needs information from
Young, who is understandably shy.
Gary Oldman simmers through his performance as Warren Glenn,
Alcatraz’s traditional dick warden, and his subtlety serves the
piece nicely. Past baggage and foreboding restraint make him
terrifying.
Slater never waves around a gun, drives a sportscar or flirts
with cute girls. He’s taking a leap into unknown territory by
actually not playing himself. Those who once dismissed him as a
cool cat Jack wannabe may have to give him some credit in the other
thing Nicholson can do: act.
Well, maybe not quite up to those standards yet, but Slater is
doing some interesting part selection. This legal drama should add
to his credentials quite nicely.
Yet the big winner of this film will be Bacon, consistently
suffering and recalling, suffering and suffering some more. Young’s
story is a compelling tragedy only 17 at incarceration he
missed a lot of life, love and baseball. For him, the trial is
about everything but his murder. Bacon’s raw portrayal is evidence
of perfect preparation and considerable instinct.
Murder In the First would have been 10 times better, and 10
times more disturbing had the last five minutes been lopped off.
Yet a little Hollywoodization in the final act does little to
discredit Marc Rocco’s efforts. Rocco turns what could have been a
claustrophobic indoor trap into a seminar on dramatic court
behavior.
The subject matter defies ongoing attempts to make its themes
universal, and you may wake up the next day forgetting why you
learned about the plight of Henri Young, but Murder is a hell of a
lot better than Kuffs.
FILM: Murder In the First. Directed by Marc Rocco. Starring
Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon and Gary Oldman.