Now available on Video on Demand (VOD) and DVD is the film The Trials of Cate McCall. The film aired on the Lifetime channel not too long ago.
The Trials of Cate McCall stars Kate Beckinsale as Cate McCall. Also appearing the film is Nick Nolte, James Cromwell, Taye Diggs, Kathy Baker, Clancy Brown and Mark Pellegrino.
Cate McCall was once a good lawyer but substance abuse, a pending divorce and the loss of custody of her children has sent her into a tailspin. She was even put on probation at her law firm.
Cate is trying to better her life by attending AA meetings so that she can regain custody of her daughter. She also accepts a “pro bono” case in order to prove herself to her law firm. The case involves a young girl who was charged with murder.
Cate has her doubts and suspicions and begins to investigate the case to prove her client’s innocent. What she finds is a web of lies and deceit. What should have been a fairly straight forward case has now spun into something much more – something that could end up having Cate murdered.
Is Cate’s client innocent? What will Cate uncover and i is it worth risking her life for? Will the pressure make her fall back into substance abuse? Will she ever win back custody of her daughter? If you think you know the answers you could be wrong. To find out you need to watch The Trials of Cate McCall on VOD or DVD.
Overall I thought the movie was good. Personally I wouldn’t go out and purchase it to add to my family’s movie collection, but I would watch it on TV or VOD if I was looking for a movie to watch. It’s more of a TV movie then a movie you would see on the big screen (theaters).
Kate Beckinsale did a great job as Cate. She was very believable in her part of Cate. She pulled off being “touch as nails” as well as being vulnerable with ease. I did feel for her as a mom struggling with her inner demons in effort to regain custody of her daughter. She played all of the emotions very well.
I was surprised to see Nick Nolte in the film. He was just “OK” for his role as Mr. Bridges. For some reason I just didn’t feel like he fit in the role. I still think of Nick Nolte from his Prince of Tides days. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain. I wouldn’t have cast him in that role.
The case that Cate is working on is very compelling. There are a lot of twists and turns and things you don’t seem coming. Some legal terms I didn’t understand (like Habeas Petition). Thankfully it becomes more clear as the movie goes on.
Over all is was a good film. I enjoyed watching it but I probably won’t watch it again. It’s not the type of movie (in my opinion) that you watch over and over and over again.
Here is the film’s trailer for your enjoyment. It was the only good one that I could find.
Kimberly
*I received a free screener copy in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.