ABSTRACT
What are we to draw from the myriad of legal characters that appear in legal films? Having, in Chapter 1, identified some of the problems in determining what are law films, the problem is exacerbated here by trying to find what the lawyers themselves look like on the wide screen. There have been some attempts to draw out generalisations concerning a number of films, and also how different portrayals have altered during different chronological periods. There is a great danger in trying to search for the definitive screen lawyer. Many have their own attractive cinematic features, whether as positive attributes or by displaying human weaknesses. Lincoln and Finch seem lofty and detached when contrasted with the gritty realism of the lives of Erin Brockovich or Frank Galvin. The latter are no less attractive for having to struggle. Similarly, when we see the developing relationship between Reggie Love and Dianne Sway we relate to the loss of her children and the void that this has left in her life.
