...And justice for all

...and justice for all aims to do for the American judicial system what All the President's Men did for the presidency, and if Jewison had only maintained the tone of the superb original screenplay, he might have succeeded. The script's view of the behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing in the criminal courts is both fascinating and horrifying: it employs a series of sharply observed episodes to expose a mountain of lies, chicanery, corruption and legalised sadism as Pacino's attorney battles to save various clients from the terrifying whims of the system. But, almost as if he were scared of becoming too serious, Jewison alternates some incredibly powerful moments with breezy farce, and also proceeds to drown the whole thing under a sub-disco score. The result is a bit like finding lumps of condensed milk in your gravy.