There's law; and then there's order,said Judge Rayford (Jack Warden), patting his now-holstered six-shooter. Just as Rayford brought order to his courtroom in his own way, this movie was about how the law and men live when they meet on the street, one on one. In a few words? Again, Rayford captured it beautifully:
It sucks.
Note: spoilers follow...
But, if you're up for that message, this movie tells a moving story. I don't know whether the ending was supposed to be uplifting - along the lines of "Kirkland (Al Pacino) stood up for what he believed in, kids, and that's always something to be proud of" - but all I could see was this picture of an older, fatter, bitter, lonely Kirkland, unemployed and waiting to die. I mean, he would've been disbarred at the very least; hell, he was so over-the-top in that courtroom, I was expecting to see him in a psychiatric facility in the next scene. Of course, all I got was a clipped shot of the courtroom steps and the credits, which, I would have to say, was the most disappointing aspect of the whole movie: a fantastic buildup to... well, in my mind, Kirkland throwing it all away. As my wife said, that scene just screamed mistrial, and who knows how the new one would've gone. Let's just say there were better ways to ensure Judge Fleming (John Forsythe) got the maximum penalty.
However, I don't want to leave with the wrong impression. Pacino got an Academy Award nomination for his performance as Kirkland, and with good reason. I remember one scene where he's eating Chinese food with his-soon-to-be girlfriend, Gail Packer (Christine Lahti), and his mouth's just a-goin'. I'm serious! I've never seen Pacino eat like that, and I've watched a lot of his movies. I turned to my wife and said, "That's it. He is Kirkland. He's decided that this is how Kirkland would eat, so here it is." Great stuff. Take my upset over the ending as an indication of how good the hour and 45 minutes that proceeded it were.
