While Norton gets the fireworks, Gere does the heavy lifting. Martin Vail begins as a vanity-driven showman, more interested in winning than truth. Gere plays him with slick charm and sharp suits. But as the case unravels, the cracks appear. By the end, Gere’s silent, shattered reaction in the final scene—a moment of pure horror and self-realization—is the film’s true emotional climax. Vail doesn’t just lose the case; he loses his illusion of control.

The evidence is damning. But Vail and his investigator (Frances McDormand) uncover a sleazy underbelly—the archbishop had secrets, involving the victim in pornographic films and a secret relationship with Aaron.

The ending is legendary. After winning an acquittal based on Aaron’s "dissociative identity disorder," Aaron drops the stutter in a private moment. "There never was an Aaron, counselor," he says coldly. "You just got the performance of your life."