Schuriken It's a good contemporary drama film about Kate going about trying to solve a strange murder case.In this film you actually witness Beckinsale showing some emotion (some) which is a rare thing about her. In most of her movies she looks like a cardboard cut out with real legs and arms. It's like her face was stored in a freezer for 12 weeks and can't move a single facial muscle.Anyways, this is a good film for all ages, photography is good, story is realistic enough and Nick Nolte appears to be wearing a different suit every 5 minutes.I can't give it a lower grade than 6 because I found nothing wrong with this one. Enjoy.

TxMike This is a good, intense drama. Cate is a trial lawyer, a very good one, but the title reference is more to the trials that she faces as a person. She once won a case that sent a man to prison, but he was later released when new evidence was discovered. Now she may be getting a murderer out of prison on faulty testimony. We see that she is on probation, ostensibly for activity related to alcohol abuse. She has also lost custody of her young daughter and sees a shrink to work on her issues and get her daughter back. And she goes to AA meetings.As part of her restitution she is given a pro-bono case, a woman is serving a life sentence for murder but some questions regarding false testimony and suppression of key evidence cast doubt, Cate is asked to investigate and see if a new trial is in order.The movie only works if the main character, Kate Beckinsale as Cate McCall, is really authentic all the way through, and she is. Also her sponsor, Nick Nolte as old lawyer Bridges, must be equally convincing, and he is.SPOILERS: Cate uncovers many irregularities and before a judge that had been a professor of hers declares the woman free. But she soon discovers the woman really was guilty, she finds a loophole that would allow the DA to bring it up again. And, in the end, she rejects a high-powered job and partnership to move to Seattle to be near her ex-husband and her young daughter, putting her priorities where she can be happy.

AJSteele Your getting lucky when you select a film like "The Trials Of Cate McCain" even considering that it is such a mundane sounding title. Kate Beckensale as an attorney battling alcoholism is thoroughly absorbing as the splinters of life consume her. The film contains a wide array of excellent actors that most of us haven't seen in awhile and their portrayals are definitely worth multiple viewings. Nick Nolte especially, who's name I thought may have been stamped on the movie just to give it gravitas, is certainly compelling as he seemingly brings his life experience to the script and sells it 100%. A simple but subtly powerful performance as Beckensale's mentor.A little history about this movie- It was released theatrically in Hungary and reportedly had a bad box office return. It was decided that a U.S. and UK release would be skipped. The film was bought by the Lifetime network and some watched it there giving it bad on line reviews, possibly because of its connection to a supposed low quality network and whatever else. Thankfully the theatrical version was cold pressed to DVD which saved it from bogus network editing. I also read that actor Taye Diggs was in the film but his scenes were removed. I find that odd but never the less he is listed as an actor in the film. My personal feelings are that marketing mistakes and knee jerk decisions caused this very good film to die an untimely movie theatre death.Anyone that is either in recovery or recovered from substance abuse should seriously identify with many scenarios in the film but there are enough accurate emotional stirrings for the average movie goer to ponder as well. Ms.Beckensale is Oscar worthy as she navigates through the dilemmas of her fractured life. It's good to see the philosophy of the 12 steps incorporated into a movie in a realistic way. The believability factor is exceptionally high on all fronts. I intend to purchase this film and I obviously highly recommend it.

Jesse Boland Very solid courtroom drama with some nice twists, and great moments of tension. From the start you are introduced to everything in the same order, and at the same speed as our poor Cate, but as things progress you are pulled along right with her into the tapestry as it is woven around. Great cast Kate Beckinsale plays her roll on a thin knife's edge, and Nick Nolte has changed a lot over the years, but this roll really suits the man that he seems to be now. Cate is really put through many trials to learn who she really wants to be. I Enjoyed this one quite a bit, and would recommend it to any fans of the tense moments, and not knowing exactly what is going on until the characters you are following do. The real question left for you to answer for yourself is should you trust your heart, not the evidence?