Written by: Karen Moncrieff
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Nick Nolte, Clancy Brown, David Lyons, Ava Kolker
Rating: [3/5]
As most know, defense attorneys need not know if their client committed whatever crime they’ve been accused of as their main goal comes from creating just a smidgen of reasonable doubt to avoid conviction. In the macro sense, quite the dubious idea but one The Trials of Cate McCall focuses on and while it does not end in the most proficient manner, what we receive on the whole with this feature deserves some praise.
After her bout with alcoholism resulting in limited custody of her child and needing reinstatement to the bar, Cate (Kate Beckinsale) takes pro bono work in the case of a woman charged with murder. While looking like an unwinnable case at first, Cate begins to find kernels indicating police corruption involved that might just exonerate her client.
Nothing seen in The Trials of Cate McCall will come as a surprise to anyone who has watched a few legal dramas. It does not try to reinvent the wheel, but in the areas it needs to land the mark, this feature finds a way to succeed, mostly in the first half. When presented with this case, Cate found the prospects of getting a not-guilty verdict quite slim, but the digging that she does finds something much more sinister under the surface. These moments of revelation and the ensuing scenes in the courtroom display this film at its finest. We see Cate become obsessive with getting to the truth because not only does she need to defend her client, but she now believes in the innocence of who she’s advocating for. This no longer becomes a duty of obligation but rather a conviction to get the individuals who framed this woman. It builds intrigue, suspense, and essentially provides everything a fan of these types of films would like.
As the title indicates, the plurality of the trial indicates Cate is fighting two battles here. One in the courtroom and the other in her bout with alcoholism. For her, it’s reached a degree where she has limited custody of her daughter and was disbarred, which must be quite extreme. She must maintain her sobriety just as much as she feels she must win this case making this quite the journey for her. As much as that plays into the narrative, the bout with alcoholism does not get as much play with this feature leaving plenty on the bone but just enough to keep us engaged with her character as a whole.
For as much as the first half of this feature brings exactly what one would want from a tense legal drama, where the feature goes in the second half proves to be quite the choice. While obviously not trying to spoil what transpires in the film, let’s just say things get quite messy. While the shift in narrative does not come with originality, the way the film handles it all does not entirely work or elicit the desired impact. You can just feel what Karen Moncrieff wanted to convey with how she shifts things around but the scattershot approach does the feature no favors, which feels disappointing considering the greatness on display earlier in the film.
Kate Beckinsale has never received the roles she has deserved in her career and while she has found a good income stream with the Underworld films, not often does she get a role where she challenges herself. Whether this happens by choice or by the role she elects for herself, at the very least she gets something good here with Cate McCall. Definitely a character with her flaws and areas to improve upon, she does quite well here. Leaning into the drama and delivering some lines with extreme ferocity, she tears right into exactly what was called upon for this character. It demonstrates what she can do when given the proper opportunity to display her full talent and I commend her effort here along with other actors who left their mark in this feature, which also includes Nick Nolte, Clancy Brown, and James Cronwell. Each of them plays exactly the type of character they usually portray and it works mighty fine for the narrative.
While lopsided in terms of quality leaning much better in the first half, Karen Moncrieff creates a succinct and enjoyable legal drama in The Trials of Cate McCall. A film unafraid to jump right into the gray area of the legal system and the smooth operators waiting for their opportunity to strike. When in the courtroom this feature hits its highest highs and allows Kate Beckinsale to shine as she eats right into this role. A film that might not have much staying power but gets the job done in providing some entertainment.
Films with Josh 
