Early in Prima Facie, we learn that when barristers lose cases, their euphemism of choice is “coming second”. The line comes directly from the 2019 award-winning play of the same name, the searing story of a hotshot barrister who finds herself confronting the legal system, which has been at the centre of her life for years. With a stellar reputation on stage, Suzie Miller, who wrote the original, as screenwriter for this adaptation and the addition of Cynthia Erivo taking over the central role, expectations for the film have been sky-high since it was announced. But the move from theatre to cinema can be full of bear traps.

Erivo is Tessa, a brilliant barrister from a working-class background with a formidable reputation. She treats the law and cross-examinations in court as a game and is on the verge of major career recognition when she starts a casual romance with her privileged colleague, Julian (Daniel Ings). The shine is wiped from their relationship when he rapes her, a crime that she reports to the police, fully expecting that she’ll need to take the stand as both witness and accuser. On the receiving end of the same tactics and style of questioning she previously used when acting on behalf of her own clients, her faith in the legal system starts to waver.

This is no adaptation of a conventional play, but it is a conventional adaptation. Miller’s original was a one-woman performance, a raw theatrical experience with the focus solely on its central and only character. In a physically strenuous role, the dialogue pulsated, hardly allowing the actor to draw breath, while the audience frequently held theirs. Adapting something that is so much of the theatre is a huge challenge and an even bigger risk. Miller and the film’s director, Susanna White (Our Kind Of Traitor, The Buccaneers), agreed they wanted to expand the horizons of the play so that all the characters never seen on stage became people in their own right. Prime Facie certainly gives us a full cast and doesn’t fall into the trap of looking stage-bound, but the fiery solo performance that made it stand out has been extinguished. And its heart is lost.

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The risk-averse approach of surrounding Tessa with her colleagues and family brings together a good ensemble cast, but the narrative becomes so diluted that what should have been a constantly challenging and thought-provoking film is a disappointingly flat courtroom drama. There are moments when we listen to Tessa’s own thoughts – they’re essentially clips from the original monologue – but they’re sadly unable to provide much-needed depth, and the sense of a routine procedural is further underlined by a weasely prosecuting barrister who could easily have been plucked from Rumpole Of The Bailey.

Still an Oscar short of her EGOT, Erivo is a strong choice for the lead, but the cinematic Tessa has been pared down to such an extent that it gives her less to work with than she deserves. Harriet and Drift are much better showcases for her talent, even if the world seems reluctant to think of her in anything other than Wicked. The issues underlying the film – the depressing frequency of sexual assaults on women and their experiences in obtaining justice – are given some punch towards the end, and this week’s headlines have thrown them into a broader spotlight than Prima Facie’s makers could ever have expected. But it’s not enough to provide the guts and ferocious energy the film misses so sorely. This is a film that never escapes from second place.

★★

In UK cinemas from November 13^th / Cynthia Erivo, Harry Treadaway, Simon Russell Beale, Noma Dumezweni, Toheeb Jimoh, Daniel Ings / Dir: Susanna White / Sony Pictures UK / 15

About the Author

Freda Cooper

Editor

Freda is a Senior Writer at The People's Movies. A lifelong movie fan and a film critic for over ten years, Freda’s natural habitat is the darkened rooms frequented by fellow cineastes. She can also be found asking questions of some of the biggest names in the business – from Cate Blanchett to Daniel Craig or Mike Leigh to Pete Docter – or crafting reviews for a number of sites and publications, including The People’s Movies. And listeners to BBC Local Radio can catch her views on the latest releases. She always – and probably always will – cite The Third Man as her favourite film of all time. Her top ten? That’s a moveable feast …..

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