When it was over, my gut reaction to this movie was one of sadness. Yes, in many ways it was inspiring. It's nice to see the little guy (in this case, Dr. Robert Kearns, played by Greg Kinnear) come out on top. Whenever you see a David vs. Goliath story it's always nice to see David win. But at what price? The scene in this movie that really sticks with me has little to do with victory. It comes at the end. Kearns has won his court case and been awarded over $10 million from the Ford Motor Company after a jury ruled that Ford had stolen his idea for an intermittent windshield wiper. It should be a time for a grand celebration. But the journey has been a long one and a hard one. It cost Kearns his wife and almost his family. He reconciled with his children, but in that haunting scene, his ex-wife (whom he did love, and who did love him) congratulates him on having achieved everything he wanted and then simply walks down the halls of the courthouse, leaving him behind. His obsession with victory over his marriage made a reconciliation impossible. Director Marc Abraham filmed that perfectly, and got the point across: Kearns won - and he won a lot - but he also lost - and he lost big time. The whole movie, to me, builds up to that question - at what price victory? How much should we be willing to sacrifice to win - even if the victory is an important one, a serious matter of principle? Is there a point at which we should decide that the price of victory is just too high, or was Vince Lombardi right - "winning isn't everything - it's the only thing!"
Frankly, this isn't an exciting movie. It isn't going to lift you out of your seats at any point. The courtroom scenes don't have any "You can't handle the truth!" dramatic revelations or admissions. It's actually pretty simple and straightforward; some might even call it dull at times. But this isn't a movie that you watch for excitement. It's a thought provoking movie. It's a movie about principles and values. It's a movie that makes you wonder just how far you would go to fight for what's right, even if you had to give up the most important thing in the world to do it. I'm not saying Kearns was right or wrong. He answered those questions for himself. I'm just not sure that I would have answered them in the same way. But a movie that raises such a thought provoking issue - even if it isn't the most exciting movie you'll ever see - is worth at least a 7/10.
Frankly, this isn't an exciting movie. It isn't going to lift you out of your seats at any point. The courtroom scenes don't have any "You can't handle the truth!" dramatic revelations or admissions. It's actually pretty simple and straightforward; some might even call it dull at times. But this isn't a movie that you watch for excitement. It's a thought provoking movie. It's a movie about principles and values. It's a movie that makes you wonder just how far you would go to fight for what's right, even if you had to give up the most important thing in the world to do it. I'm not saying Kearns was right or wrong. He answered those questions for himself. I'm just not sure that I would have answered them in the same way. But a movie that raises such a thought provoking issue - even if it isn't the most exciting movie you'll ever see - is worth at least a 7/10.