Felicity Huffman Movie:

Editorial Review:
One of the most intriguing criminal trials of the 1980s involved Claus von Bülow, who was accused of sending his rich wife Sunny into a permanent coma with an overdose of insulin. Director Barbet Schroeder, working from Nicholas Kazan's evocative, darkly humorous script, turns the story into both a look at the lives of rich folks with too much time on their hands and a whodunit, as lawyer Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) prepares to defend von Bülow (Jeremy Irons) in court. Irons won an Oscar for his spooky, knowing performance, which hints at depths of degeneracy without ever putting a dent in a veneer of bored elegance. The contrast between the hard-charging Dershowitz and his eager-beaver Harvard law students and the eternally languid von Bülow adds unexpected humor. --Marshall Fine

Reversal of Fortune [Region 2] Reviews:
puzzled
2009-10-17 - Jeremy Irons and Glenn Close are two of my favorite actors. Very good drama. This is worth seening based
on a true event.It leaves you wondering if he realy kill her. I enjoy it.

Did Clause Murder Sunny For Her Money?
2009-09-24 - Sunny von Bülow died finally a short while ago without ever having emerged from her coma that it was charged was attempted homicide by her husband Clause. He supposedly did it by injecting her with insulin. Claus knew he needed first rate legal help and ended up with Alan Dershowitz turning things around for him. Interesting as the law is in this film, the characters of Sunny and Clause are even better.

Sunny von Bülow is a hard woman to like. Glen Close's depiction doesn't make that task any easier. Ironically, Sunny in a coma isn't all that different from Sunny in regular life. Basically, Sunny took up space. She was neurotic, spoiled, used to getting her own way and never did anything worthwhile. If she hadn't been rich, no one would have noticed her. She spent a great deal of time asleep--actually, a huge amount of time asleep. And when she was awake, she was more like still half asleep. I think she could easily be described as someone who was sleepwalking through her life.

Which doesn't excuse Clause if he did try to kill her but it presents an interesting dichotomy. For Clause von Bülow is potentially very likable and Jeremy Irons captures that perfectly. He is self deprecating, humorous, a wonderful raconteur. People love dining out with Clause if for no other reason than they feel better because he is such a wit and so much fun. Clause is even very witty with Dershowitz, which takes some doing when you are battling attempted murder charges. He can be totally deadpan which makes him even funnier.

I don't know what Clause von Bülow did to his wife. He may have tried to murder her and then again, he may not. That isn't enough to make an attempted murder case. So no one will ever know. But of Clause and Sunny as people, there is no doubt in my mind that if you were arranging a night out, it would be Clause, not Sunny, you would want at your table.

Neither lead is appealing, but the film works
2009-07-09 - I couldn't stand Ron Silver's cartoonish Dershowitz, and Jeremy Irons as Von Bulow is over the top in smarminess, but the film works well anyway because the script is smart. The sets are all but perfect, too, capturing Newport's absurd opulence and Cambridge's frayed collegiate look. I have no idea if they got the facts straight or not, but I did find this movie captured my attention from start to finish. Maybe I'll read the book now. Sunny von Bulow comes off as an afterthought here, despite the silly from-the-coma voice-overs.

3.5 stars out of 4
2009-05-21 - The Bottom Line:

A fascinating film that makes innovative choices visa vie its construction and seems to know more about the law than most legal thrillers, Reversal of Fortune would be interesting even if Jeremy Irons wasn't so fantastic as to justify watching the entire film: watch it and be delighted.

The miserable rich
2009-05-07 - I have read very little about the von Bulow case, yet this movie seemed so enticing: Glenn Close and Jeremy Irons star as the miserable rich couple of Newport, whose tragically shallow lives take a "theatrical" turn when Sunny suffers from 2 comas, a year apart, the second rendering her a permanent vegetable.

These two incredible actors are buttressed by some familiar faces (at least some were familiar in the early 90s): Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Christine Baranski, Felicity Huffman, and Tom Wright.

The ambiguous nature of the film easily draws you in, and the dynamic cram sessions of Prof Dershowitz's squad were interesting to watch. The film flips between this incredible mystery of attempted murder, and the legal struggles of the case. This dynamic makes the film balanced, suspenseful, and thoughtful. No one in this film is terrible or innocent. Claus is right when he states that no one will ever truly know what happened that night, not even him. Moments like these make this film. You begin to wonder, what is true? Can you remember anything as it truly happened, especially after someone suggests things about that memory? Intriguing ideas, thought-provoking dialogue, all with intense mystery and even some sly humor, truly this is an exceptional movie.

The best moment of this film is when Prof. Dershowitz says, "You are a very strange man." To which Claus replies, "You have no idea."

Played believable and subtly, yet just a little creepy to make you uncomfortable and unsure, this movie delivers on everything, except what really happened. Highly recommended.