A gruesome murder, a seemingly innocent suspect, a hotshot lawyer only interested in winning, corruption in high places...

This would be a mediocre example of a familiar type, but for its desire to blind you to the truth.

Just as Richard Gere manipulates the jury, so writers Steve Shagan and Ann Biderman juggle with the audience to conceal the facts, though the final twist is cleverly thought out, if clumsily disclosed.

Gere and Edward Norton as the altar boy held after fleeing the scene of an archbishop's murder are superior to anything else in a film where the direction grips only in bits and pieces.

Fair thriller fare for fans, although the title is a mystery of another kind.