Find Me Guilty
Freestyle Releasing | Release Date: March 17, 2006 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
65
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
5
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
San Francisco ChronicleG. Allen Johnson
Perhaps no director has so thoroughly explored the American concept of police work, prosecution and legal justice, and Find Me Guilty is a film that brings the 81-year-old filmmaker thematically full circle, back to his starting point, 1957's "12 Angry Men." Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
Shot quickly and cheaply in high-definition video and almost entirely on one set, the movie has almost zero visual energy, but it teems with snappy dialogue and the same carnival anarchy Lumet brought to "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Network." Read full review
80
The New York TimesStephen Holden
Find Me Guilty, Mr. Lumet's first feature film in seven years, catches him near the top of his game. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Despite being saddled with bad prosthetics and a ridiculous wig, Diesel displays more acting ability than in the testosterone-soaked genre where he has carved out a niche. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
This movie by its nature is not thrilling, but it is very genuinely interesting, and that is rare. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
Find Me Guilty belongs to the odd couple of Dinklage and Diesel, whose volatile performance finally proves he is much more than an action star. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
Lumet has retained a lifetime of technique and sharp instincts regarding how to make a courtroom full of people worth watching. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Lumet blatantly, simplistically stacks the decks in favor of the defendants, pitting them against mean, stupid cops and a cartoonishly nasty prosecutor. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
All the acting is solid including a knock-'em-dead single scene by Annabella Sciorra as Jackie's ex-wife. Read full review
70
VarietyEddie Cockrell
Part mob-trial thriller, part "dese 'n' dose" extended standup routine, character-rich pic plays like vintage Lumet, mining the grim comedy from life-and-death legal wranglings in the manner of "Dog Day Afternoon," "Prince of the City" and "The Verdict." Read full review
70
Village VoiceBen Kenigsberg
Find Me Guilty is overlong and often sitcomy, but it's also pleasantly old-school, with a tone, soundtrack, and even a title-card font that suggest a mellow but not senile Woody Allen. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverLuke Y. Thompson
The characters may be based on real people, with much of the dialogue culled directly from court transcripts, but Find Me Guilty plays the whole thing as comedy, and as everyone knows, putting a self-serious egomaniacal movie star in a bad hairpiece is comedy gold. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJonathan Rosenbaum
This may be the most Brechtian thing Lumet has ever done -- a movie that repeatedly challenges us to think and then to reconsider. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubNathan Rabin
A new courtroom comedy that finds Diesel chewing scenery in a role originally intended, and seemingly custom-made, for Joe Pesci. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
A sharp-looking Mob drama with a gooey moral center. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Most Mafia movies are unduly sympathetic, but this one takes the cake. Peter Dinklage is excellent as the mob's chief lawyer. Read full review
67
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
The lack of irony, let alone ambiguity, in an upside world in which mobsters are the underdogs, should sink the film, but Lumet's laid-back professionalism and Diesel's big-hearted performance give it an affable buoyancy. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Ultimately works a great deal better than you might expect. Read full review
63
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Sadly, Lumet's skill at bringing out the juice in actors isn't enough to save the film from overkill. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
There's never a question which side the movie is rooting for during the trial, and the light tone trivializes what might have been a much more intriguing exploration of the American legal system. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
An old-style mob movie based on a real court case and a real character - a colorful character - Find Me Guilty is about loyalty, family, and a bunch of good fellas. Read full review
63
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The credits say DiNorscio, who died during filming in 2004, never informed on anyone. But is that such a great thing? If you live in a sewer, is it so terrible to be a rat? Read full review
60
Washington PostTeresa Wiltz
Though we were wooed by Diesel -- notwithstanding that rug -- we were less enamored with the film's scraggly script. Find Me Guilty is a courtroom drama (much of the dialogue is culled from court transcripts) without a whole lot of drama going on. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The film is dreary and attenuated, the tedium broken only by the occasional golden moment when one of the stellar supporting players - Ron Silver as the principled presiding judge who alternately tolerates and quashes Jackie's antics, Peter Dinklage as the lead defense attorney or Annabella Sciorra as Jackie's ex - manages to cut through the clutter. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
It's no wonder Sidney Lumet's Find Me Guilty had trouble finding a distributor. Its target audience is behind bars. Read full review
50
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Find Me Guilty flat-lines early. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
The best I can say about his (Diesel)performance is that it's charmingly terrible. Read full review
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