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Review

This courtroom drama, based on the true story of the longest Mafia trial in New York City history circa 1987-88, is directed by the legendary Sidney Lumet. Twenty members of the Lucchesse crime family were indicted on seventy-six charges. Although the action almost exclusively takes place in the courtroom, Lumet is more than capable, having directed such classics as 12 Angry Men and The Verdict. The centerpiece, an acting tour de force and revelation, is Vin Diesel as Jackie DiNorscio, cocaine operations chief for the crime family. Diesel can act! Unrecognizable in naturalistic prosthetics, Diesel delivers a searing portrait of a “family” man, truly loving to his friends and relatives, more of a, as he puts it, “gagster” than a gangster. He acts as his own attorney, defending himself with self-deprecating stand-up humor and cleverly and sometimes contemptuously cross-examining the government witnesses. DiNorscio’s cousin, Tony (Raul Esparza), a desperate junkie who at first tries to kill Jackie, then rats him out to the prosecutors, excels in an edgy, paranoid performance. Even Annabella Sciorra with a small five minute sequence as Jackie’s ex-wife shows considerable acting chops. Ron Silver as Judge Finestein adds judicial gravity to the proceedings but also shows a human heart when telling Jackie that his mother had just passed away.

All the character actors as defendants add much color and personality to the court but Diesel definitely increases the caliber of his acting, guided by the master, Lumet. An underrated courtroom classic, Find Me Guilty is a must-see.

 -- Max Brinck