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Parents Television
Council Reviews
PTC reviews aim to provide you with advance information about an entertainment offering so that you can be the final arbiter of what you and your family see.
The Trial
By Christopher Gildemeister
Starring: C Matthew Modine, Clare
Casey, Randy Wayne, Robert Forster
Recommended age: 13+
Overall PTC Traffic Light Rating: Green
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Sex |
Discussion of sexual harassment and date-rape |
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Violence |
Fightfights, gunshot, discussions of murder and suicide |
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Language |
None |
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Behavior |
Drugging of others discussed and shown |
Based on the novel by Robert Whitlow, The Trial depicts the
twofold struggles of defense attorney Mac MacLain: still suffering, even
suicidal, following the deaths of his wife and children, MacLain is appointed to
defend Pete Thomason, a former Marine accused of drugging and murdering a young
woman. Thomason claims to have no memory of the murder, and his anguish mirrors
that of MacLain as he struggles toward the truth, both about the woman’s murder – and
about his own reasons to live.
With the exception of a climactic fistfight and an (off-screen)
shooting in self-defense, nearly all the problematic content in The Trial
occurs in dialogue: lawyers discuss how the young woman was drugged with
“roofies” and killed, argue about the methods of the murder, and so forth. The
movie opens with a scene of Mac loading a pistol and putting it to his own head
as he contemplates suicide.
The Trial
combines the best features of courtroom drama, murder mystery, and character
story. Intercut with the trial and investigation scenes, Mac slowly comes to
terms with his family’s deaths, with the help of a sympathetic (and openly
Christian) psychiatrist. The movie’s Christian themes are overt, with Mac being
encouraged – and coming to understand – that there is “a time to heal,” when he
“stops asking God why they died, and started thanking God for being alive.”
The Trial
is a powerful drama which shows the power of healing and hope, and the Parents
Television Council is pleased to award it with the PTC Seal of ApprovalTM.
While The Trial contains no graphic content, it’s themes may not be
appropriate or of interest to younger children. The PTC recommends The Trial
for viewers over age 13.
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