''Reversal of Fortune'' is a 1990 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Barbet Schroeder Barbet Schroeder (born 26 August 1941) is an Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working with directors of the French New Wave such as Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohm ...

that was adapted from the 1985 book ''Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case'', written by law professor

Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law, U.S. constitutional and American criminal law, criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law Sc ...

. It recounts the true story of the unexplained

coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to Nociception, respond normally to Pain, painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal Circadian rhythm, sleep-wake cycle and does not initiate ...

of socialite Sunny von Bülow, the subsequent

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seve ...

trial, and the eventual

acquittal In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an of ...

of her husband, Claus von Bülow, who had Dershowitz as his defense attorney. The film stars Jeremy Irons as Claus, Glenn Close as Sunny, and Ron Silver as Dershowitz. Screenwriter Nick Kazan originally envisioned Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer in the role of Claus von Bülow but was thrilled with Irons' performance. Irons earned the 1990

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading ...

for his performance in the film.

Plot

The story is narrated by Sunny von Bülow, who is in a coma after falling into

diabetic shock Diabetic coma is a life-threatening but reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. Three different types of diabetic coma are identified: #Severe low blood sugar in a diabetic person #Diabetic ketoacidosis (usually type 1 ...

after a Christmas party. Her husband, the dissolute European aristocrat Claus von Bülow, is charged with attempting to murder the hypoglycemic Sunny by giving her an overdose of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

. Claus's strained relationship with his wife and his cold and haughty personal demeanor lead most people to conclude that he is guilty. In need of an innovative defense, Claus turns to law professor

. Dershowitz is initially convinced of Claus's guilt but takes the case because von Bülow agrees to fund Dershowitz's defense of two poor black boys accused of capital murder. Employing his law students as workers, Dershowitz proceeds to defend Claus, wrestling with his client's unnerving personal style and questions of von Bülow's guilt or innocence.

Cast

Production

The film was shot in numerous estates in

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, and the Knole house in Old Westbury, New York. At least one courtroom scene was shot at the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department in Brooklyn, New York. Despite the fact that the house where the facts happened was Clarendon Court, as also mentioned in dialogue, the establishing shot intentionally avoids the house and ends instead with a view of The Breakers, another grandiose property nearby built for

Cornelius Vanderbilt II Cornelius "Corneil" Vanderbilt II (November 27, 1843 – September 12, 1899) was an American socialite and a member of the prominent United States Vanderbilt family. Noted forebears He was the favorite grandson of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbil ...

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews and holds a 92% approval rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, with an average score of 7.9/10 from 51 reviews. The site's consensus states: "Featuring exceptional performances and a cunning script, ''Reversal of Fortune'' doubles as a tantalizing mystery and ruthless satire of the rich." It has a score of 93 on Metacritic with 18 reviews.

Accolades

In 2015, the 25th anniversary of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' named ''Reversal of Fortune'' on its list of the 25 best films of the past 25 years. The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

in these lists: * 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes and Villains: ** Claus von Bulow – Nominated Villain * 2008:

AFI's 10 Top 10 AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors ...

: ** Nominated Courtroom Drama Film

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Reversal Of Fortune 1990 films 1990 drama films 1990s American films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s English-language films Alan Dershowitz American biographical drama films American courtroom films American films based on actual events Films about lawyers Films based on non-fiction books Films directed by Barbet Schroeder Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance Films featuring a Best Drama Actor Golden Globe winning performance Films scored by Mark Isham Films set in Rhode Island Films set in the 1980s Films with screenplays by Nicholas Kazan Warner Bros. films English-language biographical drama films