As with all movies on this website, our goal is not to provide a complete synopsis of the movie, but rather to document how the movie relates to the meaning of life. With that said, be forewarned, there are still spoilers below.
The Trial (2010) was directed by Gary Wheeler, and is based on Robert Whitlow's book for which he won a Christy Award. The main character Mac, a lawyer who retired a bit too soon, loses his family in a car accident... an accident in which he survived. Not being able to handle the burden of survival, he is about to commit suicide when a judge calls him about a murder case. Mac reluctantly takes the case.
At first, all odds are against the defendant Pete Thomason, with all evidence pointing to the idea that he killed his girlfriend. With a bit of work, Mac and his team offer glimmers of hope to Pete, while the prosecution argues for the death penalty. Essentially, Mac finds a renewed purpose of life through work, through helping Pete avoid the death penalty, through religion, and romance. He was brought back from the brink of suicide and was able to continue living. A man contemplating taking his life saves a man who is unfairly about to lose his.
Overall, this movie is not necessarily heavy on the meaning of life. In fact, it was only by accident that this movie was reviewed. In the search for The Trial based off Franz Kafka's novel, this other movie was discovered. But, it is about a man finding his purpose after losing it all.
We rate the movie as follows:
Overall - 5
Meaning of Life Relevance - 3
Uniqueness – 2
What did we miss? Comment on this blog post and let us know.