Find Me Guilty

The longest mafia trial in US judicial history – based on a true story: As a member of the notorious Lucchese family, Jackie DiNorscio (xXx star Vin Diesel) is already serving a long prison sentence. Now the mafioso is back in court with 19 other defendants, charged with organized crime. This time, however, the prosecution offers Jackie a reduced sentence if he turns state's evidence against his accomplices. But Jackie rejects the deal. Instead, he decides to defend himself, which further complicates the already complex trial. With his humorous charm, Jackie not only gets a few laughs, but also causes quite a bit of chaos in the courtroom. The trial drags on for 21 months—a battle between loyalty, morality, and the American legal system. This entertaining courtroom drama, which made it into the Berlinale competition, was directed by none other than master director Sidney Lumet (“12 Angry Men,” “Dog Day Afternoon,” “Serpico”). For the narrative, Lumet combined authentic dialogue from the original court transcripts with the pointed portrayal of his delightfully unconventional characters – played by action star Vin Diesel, this time with more hair and fewer muscles, and “Game of Thrones” star Peter Dinklage as a shrewd lawyer. “Diesel manages to credibly capture the charisma, wit, and above all, the persuasiveness of the mafioso on screen. To do so, he not only had to spend two hours in makeup every day during filming, but also had to eat plenty of ice cream to put on a few extra pounds. This transformed him into ”Fat Jack." Lumet took a risk with the casting of the protagonist, but he made the right decision with Vin Diesel." (Simone Seidel, on: filmreporter.de)