richard gere is not one of my favorite actors . 
however , i like courtroom dramas , and this film looked good enough to take a chance on . 
i wasn't disappointed . 
it wasn't a great film , but it was interesting , and took several unexpected turns . 
one thing : what's with the title ? 
not only is it extremely forgettable , it doesn't really have much to do with the film , as far as i could determine . 
in the long run , it will probably hurt the film , as people won't be able to think of or remember it . 
martin vail ( richard gere ) is a grandiose defense attorney . 
he loves the money and the fame that go along with defending ( successfully ) rich scum , such as mafia men and drug-dealers . 
once he sees that the accused killer of a prominent chicago archbishop is a baby-faced alter boy , he wants in on the case , presumably for the press he'll get . 
we soon find out that the prosecutor assigned is a former lover , janet venable ( laura linney ) . 
vail himself is a former prosecutor , and quit because of tensions between himself and the district attorney , played very well by john mahoney ( frasier's father on the tv series ) . 
there is an underlying theme of dichotomy in the movie : people have public faces , and private faces . 
we see this in the murdered archbishop , in the accused , and , most strongly , defense attorney martin vail . 
richard gere does a fairly good job . 
at first , he appears to be a money- and attention-grabbing lawyer , with no consideration of the truth . 
but we see another side , as he becomes a seeker of justice , and comes to believe in his client . 
alfre woodard , as the judge , is capable , though somewhat wasted in a standard role . 
laura linney also does journeyman work ; nothing spectacular , but acceptable . 
her relationship with vail is believable ; their verbal fencing adds to the film . 
the actor who playes vail's investigator ( unfortunately , i don't remember his name ) is quite good . 
his female assistant ( she looked very familiar , but i can't remember where i've seen her ) was also capable , but unspectacular . 
the best performance in the film was by edward norton . 
he was excellent , as the timid altar-boy turned alleged " butcher boy of st . mike's " . 
i was impressed by the depth of the plot ; there are red-herrings , and dead-ends , that in a lesser film would lead to a predictable ending . 
i liked the plot twists the film took , and most of the supporting characters , thus i give primal fear a respectable b+ rating .