An archbishop is murdered, and Richard Gere, as headline-grabbing attorney Martin Vail, jumps at the chance to defend the young man arrested. Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton) is a pathologically shy kid who says he's innocent, and at first, Vail doesn't care whether he is or not. Then he makes an emotional investment he hadn't counted on. Gere taps into his charismatic weasel mode, but director Gregory Hoblit fills the screen with excellent TV actors and gives them nothing interesting to do. The key plot twist may leave you feeling burned. C+