With the help of a bad wig and a great script, Vin Diesel emerges from the action-film mire, giving an astoundingly nuanced performance.
Find Me Guilty (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:102
Fresh:60
Rotten:42
Average Rating:6/10
Consensus: Diesel's performance may win you over, but the rest of the movie is tediously overlong and stacks the deck to gain sympathy for criminals.
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: Accomplished director Sidney Lumet has based some of his most notable films on true crime stories, and FIND ME GUILTY is similar in this respect to such work as SERPICO and DOG DAY AFTERNOON. The... Accomplished director Sidney Lumet has based some of his most notable films on true crime stories, and FIND ME GUILTY is similar in this respect to such work as SERPICO and DOG DAY AFTERNOON. The difference lies in the comedic, almost cartoonish aspect of the later movie, which stars an astonishingly charming Vin Deisel as lifelong Mafioso Jackie DiNorscio. Perennially cheerful and always cracking wise, DiNorscio is a notorious criminal who is serving time on his most recent conviction for cocaine trafficking when the Feds bring him in to offer him a deal. They are mounting a massive case against New Jersey's biggest mob family, led by Nick Calabrese (Alex Rocco), in what will eventually earn a World Record as the longest-running trial in history. The fiercely loyal DiNorscio, however, refuses to rat on his friends, and instead he finds himself standing trial along with them. Jackie throws another wrench into the works by deciding to forgo a lawyer and represent himself in the case; he begins a line of argument that positions him as a "gagster, not a gangster." All the lawyers on the case are initially horrified by this decision, including their leader Ben Klandis (Peter Dinklage in a rare turn), while Jackie repeatedly offends the judge (Ron Silver) and drives the high strung D.A. Sean Kierney (Linus Roache) to distraction. However, as the case progresses it becomes apparent that Jackie is winning over judge, jury, and audience. His commitment to his friends and family emerges in numerous moving moments, while Jackie's testimony--based closely on transcripts from the trial--remains truly entertaining while calling into question the integrity of a judicial system that just might fall for it. [More]
Starring: Vin Diesel, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Peter Dinklage
Starring: Vin Diesel, Ron Silver, Annabella Sciorra, Peter Dinklage, Aleksa Palladino, Alex Rocco, Paul Borghese, Dominick Lombardozzi
Director: Sidney Lumet
Director: Sidney Lumet
Producer: Vin Diesel
Studio: Yari Film Group
Reviews for Find Me Guilty
Sporting what looks like one of Bert Convy's escaped hairpieces, Diesel delivers a sly performance: charming, yet honest about his character's essential lunkheadedness.
...a fully entertaining venture, Diesel's best film to date and Lumet's best in at least a decade.
Find Me Guilty is overlong and often sitcomy, but it's also pleasantly old-school, with a tone, soundtrack, and even a title-card font that suggest a mellow but not senile Woody Allen.
The joy of this star turn isn’t in the cosmetic adjustments Diesel has made to play Jackie. It’s in the boundless energy and humor he brings to the courtroom shenanigans
In Find Me Guilty, the teller counts at least as much as the tale. And, in director Sidney Lumet, Find Me Guilty, has a master storyteller spinning the yarn.
If you're one of those people who thinks interesting trials make for interesting movies, then you will find this movie 'entertaining' as charged.
If you didn't know you were watching Vin Diesel in Find Me Guilty, you wouldn't know you were watching Vin Diesel. And that's a compliment.
If watching a jury disregard mountains of damning evidence in favor of a charismatic gangster who calls himself a "gagster" seems a morally challenging proposition, well that's all part of the bargain in Lumet's topical drama.
Manages to crackle along in lively fits and starts of nasty profanity and very bad but all too credible behavior.
Character-rich pic plays like vintage Lumet, mining the grim comedy from life-and-death legal wranglings in the manner of Dog Day Afternoon, Prince of the City and The Verdict.
For those of you who complain the ubiquitous "they" don't make films like they used to, here's your chance to give "them" a reason to make more.
With Lumet being in his mid-80s, it's possible that it's his final film. If this is so, it's nice that it'll be on a high note. See it.
What on the surface seems like a regular court drama with a little humor thrown in for good measure actually works as a wicked satire on the American judicial system.
Lumet is back on top of his game -- Find Me Guilty is his first feature after the awful 1999 remake of Gloria, and the reason is his strong grasp of characters who have a point of view.
Latest News for Find Me Guilty
July 03, 2007:
Explosions! Tigers! Strippers! It's the Teaser Trailer for Diesel's "Babylon A.D."!
Hey, remember action star Vin Diesel? Well, he's back. More...
August 08, 2006:
Vin Diesel to Star in "Babylon A.D."
Aside from that fact-based courtroom flick from a few months back ("Find Me Guilty"), we haven't seen a whole lot of Vin Diesel lately. Now comes word that the... More...
February 26, 2006:
Vin Diesel plants and waters his head for a movie that looks a lot like My Cousin Vinny. ![]()
More...
More DVDs
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 86% 86% | A Christmas Tale |
| 60% 60% | Paper Heart |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Find Me Guilty at Rotten Tomatoes
- Find Me Guilty at IGN
- Find Me Guilty at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

