'True Believer' is A Fair Entertainer, with a Winning Performance by James Woods! Woods delivers one of his best performances in this 1989 Courtroom Drama, and he without a doubt, is the biggest merit of this film.
'True Believer' Synopsis: A cynical former civil liberties attorney now reduced to "specializing" in defending drug dealers becomes transformed by an eight-year-old murder case.
Wesley Strick's Screenplay is average in the first-hour, but is arresting & absorbing in the second-hour. I really liked the second-hour of the film, it really caught my attention. Joseph Ruben Directs this Courtroom Drama, nicely. Cinematography, Editing, Art Design & Costume Design, are satisfactory.
Performance-Wise: Woods, obviously, is the show-stealer. As mentioned, The Acting Legend delivers one of his best performances in here. He really rips it up in every scene. Robert Downey Jr. is good. Margaret Colin supports well. Yuji Okumoto is passable, while Kurtwood Smith is excellent. Others fill the bill.
On the whole, 'True Believer' is a decent film, with Woods ruling the show with a memorable performance.
