The End of Initial Fear, Explained

The following article contains a discussion of sexual exploitation.

The end of the classic 1996 legal thriller Primal Fear as it concludes on a wonderfully ambiguous note, there are plenty of twists, turns and deeper meanings to explore. Richard Gere stars as Martin Vail, a lawyer who welcomes the media attention as he works to distract high-profile clients from technical issues. In his film debut, young Edward Norton stars as Aaron Stampler, an altar boy accused of murdering a powerful Catholic archbishop who insists that he is innocent and that his violent behavior is the work of a second personality named “Roy.”

Norton breakthrough performance Primal Fear earning him Oscar and BAFTA nominations and a Golden Globe award. One of the reasons this is one of Norton's best performances is that he manages to deliver a surprising climactic twist. For most of the working time, Primal Fear Makes the audience think Aaron is a timid, bland, misunderstood child whose violent outbursts were completely beyond his control. After Aaron reveals a disturbing truth in the film's final moments, that audience—like Vail himself—is left with a cold, uneasy feeling. Primal Fear.

How Vail Knew Aaron Was Lying

It was never Aaron

In the last scene, Primal Fear It begins to build a heartwarming ending that provides emotional closure as Vail comes to visit Aaron in prison and Aaron thanks his lawyer for saving his life in the courtroom. However, as he prepares to leave, Vail watches as that winning villain, Aaron, lies, leading to a disturbing confession. Vail realized Aaron was lying when he told prosecutor Janet Venable to apologize for his assault. (Laura Linney) in the courtroom.

Aaron claimed that whenever “Roy” took over his mind and started hurting people, he blacked out and had no memory of it. But when Aaron asks Vail to apologize for attacking Venable, that's what he should have remembered. At first, Vail assumed that meant Roy was never there, but his wily client corrected him:

Roy's violent persona was always Aaron's true identity.

“There was never an Aaron” in a cementing scene Primal Fear As one of Edward Norton's best movies. Roy's violent persona was Aaron's true identity all along, and the sweet, naive altar boy he presented to Val was just an act. Aaron felt comfortable revealing the truth to Vail because the judge had already dismissed the jury and decided to declare him not guilty by reason of insanity, meaning he would be sent to a mental institution rather than prison.

Why was Venable fired?

Venable refused to cover up his boss's crimes

After being attacked by Aaron in court, Venable was fired after losing the case and failing to obtain a guilty verdict for Aaron.. But it went a little deeper than that. Her boss, crooked state attorney John Shaughnessy (John Mahoney), harbors a grudge against the archbishop for costing him millions in a botched land deal.

Venable refused to destroy the evidence and presented it in court, where Vail called Shaughnessy as a witness.

When Vail brought evidence of this to Venable, Shaughnessy tried to convince him to destroy the evidence. Venable refused to do so and presented the evidence in court, where Vail called Shaughnessy as a witness. This is what creates complexity Primal Fear one of the best court movies. Vail accused Shaughnessy of covering up the archbishop's history of sexual abuse of altar boys, which prompted Aaron to kill him.

If Shaughnessy hadn't kept the Archbishop's secrets to lure him into the land deal, then Aaron wouldn't have pushed him to the point of killing him. Shaughnessy hoped that Venable would obey his orders and get rid of the incriminating evidence, but he ended up exposing his crimes and Vail called him to the stand. After testing all of this, Shaughnessy became angry enough with Venable that he kicked him out of his office.

What does the name Primal Fear mean?

Both Vail and Aaron felt This Fear

Legal thrillers often take their names from phrases associated with the law, e.g Double jeopardy or of John Grisham Fugitive Jury. But the title Primal Fear not taken from a legal dictionary; it has a deeper meaning that connects to the emotions of the story outside of the courtroom. The most obvious explanation for the title Primal Fear it hints at the deep terror felt by Vail When he learns the true nature of Aaron.

Title
Primal Fear
in fact, it could refer to the initial fear that Aaron himself felt.

Vail feels betrayed when he discovers that the boy he trusted has put on a friendly facade against his unstoppable murderous rage. But the title Primal Fear in fact Aaron could be referring to the primal fear he felt when repeatedly abused by the archbishop and the primal instincts that led to his crimes.

while Primal Fear's twist ending shows that Aaron feels no remorse after taking a human life, which also suggests that he was only driven to murder by the archbishop's predatory behavior. As the Archbishop continues his cycle of violence against Aaron, Aaron's survival instincts finally kick in and turn him into a killer.

Primal Fear vs Edward Norton's Other Identity Twist

Fight club He has a true Dual Personality

Primal Fear are often compared Fight clubbecause they have the same star and similar final twist. Both films were psychological thrillers released in the late 90s and helped make Norton one of the most popular actors of his generation. Both have twisted endings involving dissociative personality disorder. But this is not the same twist; these films take the same theme in opposite directions.

Aaron immediately claimed to have an alter ego named Roy.

An unnamed narrator Fight club She is shocked to learn that her charismatic new friend, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), is actually her alter ego, completely made up in her mind. In Primal Fearon the other hand, Aaron immediately claimed to have a second identity named Roy. Fight club's twist ending revealed that the narrator and Tyler are one and the same, whereas Primal Fear's twist at the end of Aaron revealed that he was just a killer who organized Roy as an excuse for his violent explosions.

from the beginning Primal FearAaron claimed to have dissociative personality disorder and even had a neurologist Dr. Diagnosed by Molly Arrington (Frances McDormand). However, in contrast Fight clubit was all a trick.

The True Meaning of Ending Primal Fear

Vail and Aaron have two sides

Thematically, Primal Fear talks about the duality of humanity. The most obvious example is Aaron and his dark personality Roy – Aaron manages to play the role of a sweet, harmless kid. Roy is capable of unimaginable acts of violence – but it can also be seen in Vail.

Vail puts on a brave facade as a famous lawyer who garners media attention by punishing notorious criminals, but she begins to let go of her act and reveals in her conversations with Aaron that she truly cares about her clients. This is why Aaron was able to use Vail and get himself a not guilty verdict.

How the Initial Fear Overcame

The movie is fresh

the end of Primal Fear It was a big reason why the film was widely praised by critics and fans alike. It has a 77% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for critics and was Certified Fresh. The audience score was even higher as the Popcornmeter was an impressive 89% fresh. One viewer review wrote that they loved it because “incredible ending. We're all too used to seeing this genre end with a fair dose of justice. It's crazy to see someone turn that dark, and I haven't seen many do that.”

Critics also praised the ending for subverting people's expectations of legal thrillers.. Roger Ebert wrote in his review of the film: “Edward Norton as Butcher Boy, as you can see, creates a completely believable character in more ways than one.” He praised Richard Gere's performance and wrote:The crime is sensational and the revelations are surprising. But Martin Vail's character is so well developed that it could have supported a smaller, more believable film.”

Even critics who disliked the film praised it Primal Fear ends. In Kim Neman's review Empirewrote, “The latest diversion is probably a no-brainer, but it does little to redeem the lazy establishment. It has a decent cast and promising first-time director in Hoblit, a mainstay of Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, but the script should be thrown out of court and into the trash.”