Music Box

A lawyer (Jessica Lange) defends her father (Armin Mueller-Stahl) accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.

Roger Ebert gave the film a lukewarm two star review. Among his complaints were that the film was "not about guilt or innocence; it is a courtroom thriller, with all of the usual automatic devices like last-minute evidence and surprise witnesses" and that "Nazism is used only as a plot device, as a convenient way to make a man into a monster without having to spend much time convincing us of it." He is right, but I do not think this takes away from the film. Maybe not as hard-hitting as other political thrillers, it is still a strong drama.

For me, it was great to see Michael Rooker. His role is very small, unfortunately, but it may be one of the most "normal" roles he has ever had to play. He is not a killer or an alien or anything weird, just a member of the family.