Find Me Guilty

A mid-level gangster (Vin Diesel), one of 20 defendants in a Mafia trial, decides to act as his own attorney—he’s already serving a 30-year sentence, so what has he got to lose?—and turns the trial into even more of a media circus than it already is. Based on the longest criminal trial in U.S. history (21 months), the script by T.J. Mancini, Robert J. McCrea and director Sidney Lumet suffers from over-familiarity and a shortage of surprises. On the other hand, the 81-year-old Lumet’s knack for getting the best from his cast is as strong as ever. Case in point: Diesel is absolutely terrific, reminding us why he became a movie star in the first place. There’s also standout support from Peter Dinklage as a defense lawyer, Ron Silver as the judge and Annabella Sciorra as Diesel’s estranged wife.