Reversal of Fortune (1990)

The saga of Sunny Von Bulow has mystified those fascinated with the lifestyles of the rich and miserable since long before she went into that diabetic coma. Glenn Close narrates, as if from beyond the grave (or at least over the rainbow, having discovered bluer skies in sleep) the story of her seemingly fairy tale existence that starts off coldly, with the camera going far above the estates where there's a cold air of no emotion rising off of them. The story surrounds attorney Alan Derkowitz's efforts to clear her worldly husband Klaus (the Oscar Winning Jeremy Irons) of attempted murder. While the law students he works with have different ideas of his guilt or innocence, Silver reminds them that as the defense attorney, their job is to give the inkling of doubt whether they like the client or not.Irons is a combination of charming, creepy, funny and loving, so there is a benefit of doubt there, even though I was never quite sure. Not yet famous outside of the theater, Christine Baranski is coolly elegant as Klaus's latest conquest, with Julie Hagerty appearing in an unforgettable cameo as "Dark Shadows" star Alexandra Isles who was his mistress. Every detail shows that the world of the ultra rich is perhaps even more miserable than being poor, with Close showing Sunny's frailties, insecurities, anger, fear of showing love (even to her own children) and ultimate acceptance of her fate, as if living death through a coma freed her soul from her earthly woes. Ironically, when Sunny Con Bulow did pass away, it was very little fanfare, only a footnote towards this movie and the trial that inspired it. The glamorous look it takes on prevents it from looking as if it was made for TV, although references to the sad lives of other poor little rich girls (all documented in TV movies) is sadly obvious.

Greetings from Lithuania."Reversal of Fortune" (1990) is a very involving and compelling picture, based on a very true story. Performances are first rate, but Jeremy Irons steals every scene he is in - this is Oscar winning performance, and truly deserved one. The guy is just so multi layered, this is exceptional acting. Others were good. Story is involving, directing is very solid, at running time 1 h 50 min this movie does not drag and is involving from start till end.Overall, "Reversal of Fortune" (1990) is a very good movie by all accounts. It tells true story and does this in a involving and entertaining way.

Besides the thriller aspects based on a real event, the movie shows very clearly the huge difference between this two worlds: ordinary people and very rich people, and and the relationship between them.When Ron Silver and his collaborators meets Jeremy Irons, this appears to come from another planet. He is completely disconnected from the reality in which he lives. Looking over his shoulder has become a way of life. This is what money makes to some people.When Bulow was found guilty, he appealed, hiring Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz to represent him. The process by which Dershowitz and his team attempt to investigate the legal case is very interesting.Film making is superb, as the Mark Isham's soundtrack.Some early Barbet Schroeder's movies are worth to see: Single White Female, Barfly,and La Virgen de los Sicarios.8/10

The words of this review title happened to be written in pen on the videotape box of this movie that I checked out of the library. Whoever wrote them told no lie.The movie is based on Alan Dershowtiz's book of the same title, where he takes on the appeal of the attempted murder conviction of socialite Klaus von Bulow, who allegedly tried to murder his wife Sunny through an injection of insulin. Dershowitz tells this to his group of college-age legal helpers, one of whom tries to drop out in disgust, but Dershowitz changes her mind by telling her that the idea is to get the money to continue their pro bono legal quest to help two young black ghetto kids who are also facing criminal charges. Dershowitz also mentions that the state of Rhode Island's judiciary has a corrupt legal system. Also, when they do a test of how liquid coats straws, it suggests that the evidence that von Bulow might have injected Sunny with insulin might not be so real after all.Jeremy Irons gives a good performance as an icy, haughty aristocrat, both in his scenes with Dershowitz and his legal team and with the flashback scenes with him and Sunny. Also, Dershowitz is shown as haughty and pompous in his own right, even if his heart is supposedly in the right place. And the movie does not make any conclusions as to whether von Bulow was guilty or not; no surprise when Dershowitz's tactic was to cast doubt on the evidence that his client actually made any attempt to kill his wife, even if he had a motive to do so. Indeed, the movie implies that Sunny had mental problems and was probably suicidal.Dershowitz might have wanted to come across as a hero doing his job. The latter is certainly true, but he has proved no more heroic than any other defense lawyer.