A crime is tried live on TV, with the residents of Florida making up the jury via phone/text/web votes.
by Natasha Aitkin |
Published on
Release Date:
12 Sep 2003
Running Time:
98 minutes
Certificate:
15
Original Title:
Citizen Verdict
Almost as tiresome as the strange and terrifying phenomenon of reality TV itself are the films that jostle to make a Big Point about it. And so here we go again with Citizen Verdict, in which a crime is tried live on TV with the residents of Florida making up the jury via phone/text/web votes.
It's showbiz all the way as the cheesy presenters remind viewers that a guilty vote will see the criminal fried on Pay Per View. Attempts to raise the film's status above the straight-to-video market it clearly belongs in - shaky cameras, colour filters, wrinkly veteran actors - fail.
Any half-decent stabs at tension are ruined by over-the-top performances, including those from Springer (who should perhaps put his acting career on the back burner until he gets into the White House) and Assante, who sounds like a Sly Stallone record played backwards. Not to be confused with Citizen Kane under any circumstances.
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