PALL OF SOUND: Al Pacino plays the aged pop-music producer and Helen Mirren his lawyer in the HBO movie that’s as eccentric as he is. (
)
In HBO’s controversial and riveting new movie “Phil Spector,” Helen Mirren — playing Spector’s lawyer, Linda Kenney Baden — holds up an insert for a 45 rpm record and asks a young lawyer what it is.
The young guy doesn’t know, so she then holds up the 45 rpm record itself. He guesses it’s a floppy disc for an early computer.
And therein lies the problem for not just Kenney Baden, but for any under-40s who watch this movie.
Who the hell was Phil Spector, what’s a “Wall of Sound” and what’s the big deal about a guy they never heard of murdering someone else they also never heard of?
And that’s how we are brought into the strange world of Phil Spector, who was eventually convicted — after two trials — of murdering failed actress Lana Clarkson with a shot in the mouth.
The movie covers the time that led up to the first trial.
Kenney Baden’s problem is simple: most normal people on a jury would want to convict the guy just for his giant wigs and arrogant attitude.
The movie’s writer, David Mamet, throws up a giant disclaimer before the movie begins, explaining that this is completely a “work of fiction” — but it’s obvious that it’s anything but.
Spector was accused of murdering Clarkson. He did hire Kenney Baden, at the behest of John Gotti’s attorney, Bruce Cutler (Jeffrey Tambor), who disappeared from the case once the trial got rolling.
And, yes, Kenney Baden did get a hung jury when she represented Spector at his first trial.
The movie begins on the night of the murder and ends just before the trial.
Fictionalized or not, “Phil Spector” the movie is a helluva tale — told by a master dramatist and starring HBO’s very own go-to actor for oddball characters, Al Pacino. (His last HBO role was as Jack Kevorkian in “You Don’t Know Jack.”)
Pacino pulls off such a masterful performance, you will think he’s really Spector’s specter — not some fool in clown wigs.
What you may find disappointing, however, is that this is not the story of the genius who changed popular music, nor the story of Spector’s abusive relationships with his wives and his long history of threatening them with guns.
It’s not even the story of the actual trial.
What it is, however, is the story of what might have happened on the night of the murder, according to Kenney Baden.
It’s also how, suffering from pneumonia, she managed to handle this unlikable, eccentric, arrogant nut job and make him, if not likable, then at least not convictable.
Mirren and Pacino are fantastic, and Tambor rightfully underplays the larger-than-life Cutler, who rivals Spector himself.
The star of the movie, you could say, is the horrible life of Spector — the loner weirdo in his crazy, frightening mansion — and how despicable he actually is.
That said, I went into the movie knowing Spector put that gun in Clarkson’s mouth and pulled the trigger.
And I came out with, yes, reasonable doubt.
PHIL’S RISE AND FALL:
1958: Writes his first No. 1 hit, “To Know Him Is To Love Him” with The Teddy Bears. While on tour, is attacked in a restroom — fueling his increasing obsession with personal safety. Begins to travel withabodyguard.
Early 1960s: Gains renown for his “Wall of Sound” recording technique, using multi-layered instruments to createamusical “wall.”
1963: Produces his first No. 1 hit, “He’s a Rebel” (The Crystals). Has second No. 1 in 1965 with “You’ve Lost that Loving Feelin’” (the Righteous Brothers).
Mid-1960s: First signs of erratic behavior. Seated on an LA flight about to take off, he feels that something is “wiggy” — and forces the plane to head back to the gate (where his luggage is checked for a bomb).
1970: Produces “Let It Be” for The Beatles, the band’s last No. 1 album, which spawns three No. 1 singles (“Get Back,” “Let It Be,” “The Long and Winding Road”). That same year, produces George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass”—resulting in aNo. 1 single, “My Sweet Lord”—and John Lennon’s single “Instant Karma!” which charts at No. 3.
1974: Crashes his car in Hollywood and is thrown through the windshield. Sustains serious head wounds requiring hours of surgery, 300 stitches to his face and 400 stitches to the back of his head.
2003: B-movie actress Lana Clarkson found shot to death in Spector’s Hollywood mansion. Spector claims she committed “accidental suicide”; he’s convicted of her murder in 2009 and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. —Michael Starr