Reversal of Fortune (1990): The Ambiguity of Innocence
1990 • Barbet Schroeder • 1.85:1 • Jump to Gallery ↓
Directed by Barbet Schroeder and based on the nonfiction book by Alan Dershowitz, Reversal of Fortune follows the legal appeal of socialite Claus von Bülow after he is convicted of attempting to murder his wife, Sunny von Bülow, who has fallen into an irreversible coma. The film follows the defence team’s efforts to overturn the conviction and reconstruct the events surrounding the case.
A 1990s legal drama, the film builds its mystery around a psychological character study, offering Jeremy Irons an Oscar-worthy role. Constantly moving from the high-energy environment of Dershowitz’s legal ‘war room‘ to the impenetrable, old-world decadence of the client, the story builds on the ambiguity of von Bülow, allowing conflicting perspectives and interpretations to coexist and making a case for the value of reasonable doubt in the American justice system.
The moral challenges lie at the heart of Reversal of Fortune, a film that now looks and feels like an almost too classic legal thriller of its time: visually restrained, dialogue-focused, and thematically charged.
Technical Specs:
- The Story: Law professor Alan Dershowitz takes on the appeal of Claus von Bülow, a wealthy socialite convicted of attempting to murder his wife, uncovering a tangled case of wealth, deceit, and uncertainty. Read my review of Reversal of Fortune.
- Actors: Jeremy Irons, Glenn Close, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Fisher Stevens, Christine Baranski, Stephen Mailer, Jack Gilpin.
- Director: Barbet Schroeder
- Year: 1990
- Cinematographer: Luciano Tovoli
- Origin: American Cinema
- Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
- Genre: Crime & Mystery
