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NIGHT FALLS ON MANHATTAN adapts Robert Daley's pulp novel "Tainted Evidence," about a New York City Assistant District Attorney (Andy Garcia), whose first big case is prosecuting the cop-killing drug dealer who wounded his police officer father (Ian Holm, yes, Ian Holm). If that premise is difficult to swallow, don't even bother with the later scenes, when bozo time compression makes months pass as minutes and Garcia's character is suddenly elected the new Dis- trict Attorney. (And very little of which bothered me. I took of- fense to the abrupt addition of Lena Olin's love interest. In her scant scenes, she adds nothing.) While it plays like a three-hour movie condensed into the space of two, there are several riveting sequences, excellent acting across the board, and a tidy lesson about the grayscales of justice. Written and directed by Sidney Lumet. (Rated "R"/110 min.) Grade: B+ Copyright 1997 Michael J. Legeros Movie Hell is a trademark of Michael J. Legeros
Originally posted to triangle.movies in Movie Hell: June 23, 1997