A strong-willed woman launches a fierce battle to prove her mental competence to stand trial for manslaughter.
(18 votes)
2.
Barbra Streisand is a mad high-priced "escort" accused of murder, but whether she's mad as hell or mad as a hatter is the question in this courtroom drama, adapted from the play by Tom Topor. While her doting, willfully uncomprehending mother (Maureen Stapleton) and stepdad with a secret (Karl Malden) try to have her judged incompetent and sent to an asylum, she fights for her day in court with the help of a hapless legal aid attorney (a refreshingly understated Richard Dreyfuss). James Whitmore presides over the hearing with a compassion and sense of justice that gives one faith in a system and la Streisand (who developed and produced the project) sinks her teeth into the tempestuous role like a starving actress. The plot holds few surprised, but the drama lies in the characters and veteran director Martin Ritt (Hud) brings out the best in a top-flight cast. --Sean Axmaker
(15 votes)
3.
The Streisand Collection The pending case: the People of the State of New York vs. Claudia Draper. The issue: is Claudia mentally competent to stand trial? Sure, she's shocking. Outspoken. Explosive. Defiant. But is she "nuts"?
Barbara Streisand is Claudia and Richard Dreyfuss her public defender in the blistering courtroom thriller Nuts and their first-time pairing results in "the dramatic performances of their careers" (Pat Collins, WWOR-TV New York). The sterling supporting cast-Maureen Stapleton, Karl Malden, James Whitmore, Eli Wallach, Robert Webber and Leslie Nielsen-has been directed to a perfect pitch by Hollywood legend Martin Ritt (Hud, Norma Rae). Claudia holds nothing back, so this day in court is one you'll never forget.
(15 votes)
4.
Martin Ritt directed NUTS, a courtroom thriller which is an example of the director working clearly at the top of his form; he has always been an actor's director and here gets tremendous performances from his entire cast. Taken from a stage play that was changed extensively for the big screen, NUTS is set mostly in a courtroom, where the apparently mentally ill Claudia Draper (Barbra Streisand), a prostitute who has killed one of her johns, is standing trial for manslaughter. However, as the trial progresses and Claudia strains to prove her sanity, startling new evidence is revealed about her parents--who are trying to have her committed, her psychiatrist, and the public defender assigned to her. Streisand produced and starred in this film, and it is evident from her volatile performance how much she wanted to play Claudia; her intensity gives the film's courtroom scenes their push. Contributing to the intensity, Ritt bathes the courtroom in luminescent light during Streisand's most intense scenes, highlighting Claudia's urgency and lending an eerie feeling to the usually antiseptic courtroom. Fueled by uniformly excellent performances, Ritt's film eclipses the scope of the usual courtroom drama as it works toward a surprising and revealing conclusion.
(15 votes)
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