Release Date – 20th September 2024, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 56 minutes, Director – Cédric Kahn
Activist Pierre Goldman (Arieh Worthalter) accepts the charges of robbery against him, however denies two accusations of murder, determined to argue his case in court.
The Goldman Case is said to have been meticulously researched from newspaper articles, courtroom transcripts and plenty of information surrounding the 1975 trial it’s based on. Set entirely in the courtroom and following the trial of the titular activist it very frequently feels like a reconstruction. We see French activist Pierre Goldman (Arieh Worthalter) passionately fighting his corner as, while accepting charges of robbery, he fights against accusations of the murder of two chemists during a robbery. “Why can’t he stop?” the lawyers ask themselves as he keeps interrupting and shouting over whoever is speaking, “no idea”.
The trial is certainly slow, and can occasionally feel rambling due to how much it seems to want to capture an almost verbatim style to the proceedings. Yet, there’s still interest to be found within the naturalistic nature, especially surrounding the back-and-forth around Goldman. While descriptions from witnesses “describes the accused like thousands of men in the Paris area” everyone seems certain that they recognise the man jumping in and shouting over the rest of the trial – frequently not doing himself any favours.
Because of the based-on-a-real-trial nature of things there’s further interest to be found within the events, fully contained in the courtroom, even when, due to how much certain points have been seen in other courtroom drama both fictional and biographical, some elements feel familiar. However, due to how much the film seems to want to capture the actual trial the recreation style creates a slow feeling, causing a number of instances to feel drawn-out and lacking in drama to properly engage. Things work as a whole, especially when properly digging into Goldman and the conflicting points for and against his case, but there occasionally feels some distance to be some points, with the recreation vibe strongest in such patches as they feel like almost a bridge between the louder dramas.
While holding interest in its louder dramas, and back and forths surrounding Goldman and his case, The Goldman Case makes for slow viewing at times due to feeling more like a recreation than a fuller courtroom drama.
Just A Little Bit Random 