Few actresses, to my mind, can pull off gritty, true-life drama as well as Kate Beckinsale and in The Trials of Cate McCall she proves once again she is up for the dramatic challenge. An alcoholic lawyer, with a hot-shot law career in tatters and fresh out of rehab, Cate must take on the government to prove that an innocent woman is sitting in jail, convicted of murder.
Having had her license suspended before being forced into rehab, Cate must take on a legal aid case to prove that she is worthy, not only of being reinstated at the prestigious law firm she once worked for, but also of shared custody of her young daughter who lives with Cate’s estranged ex-husband.
Proving that her manipulative client is innocent means taking on the police, and the prosecution from the first trial and this new trial and airing dirty laundry that no-one in the justice system wants aired.
In the process she stands to lose her daughter for good when the harsh realities of the case, and the vengeance of those she has gone after, cause her to relapse and awake on her floor with a pounding hangover on the day her ex and daughter are set to move to another state.
While her client turns on the waterworks in a ploy to garner sympathy and be released from jail, Cate’s sanity and life are put in jeopardy at every turn.
Although the ending is not the happy one many will be hoping for, it does have a happy ending of sorts, fraught with twists and turns to keep the viewer glued to the screen.
Whether you are a fan of Beckinsale’s work or not, this is definitely a DVD worth adding to your collection.
