# True Believer (1989)

> A jaded defense lawyer and his idealistic protégé reopen a Korean immigrant’s long-buried murder case, forcing a compromised legal system to confront its own failure.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/19980

## Facts

- Runtime: 105 min
- Genres: Crime, Drama
- Director: Joseph Ruben
- Cast: James Woods, Robert Downey Jr., Margaret Colin, Yuji Okumoto, Kurtwood Smith, Tom Bower, Luis Guzmán, Graham Beckel
- TMDB rating: 6.2/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098524/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: combative, serious, tense, legal thriller night, 1980s movie night

## Synopsis

A disillusioned lawyer takes on a case that could redeem his lost ideals.

## Movies like True Believer

- [Guilty as Sin (1993)](https://ember.film/movie/2804)
- [Class Action (1991)](https://ember.film/movie/9459)
- [Just Cause (1995)](https://ember.film/movie/4414)
- [Jagged Edge (1985)](https://ember.film/movie/7015)
- [The Verdict (1982)](https://ember.film/movie/14295)
- [Primal Fear (1996)](https://ember.film/movie/1047)
- [Presumed Innocent (1990)](https://ember.film/movie/6118)
- [The Chamber (1996)](https://ember.film/movie/3499)
- [Night Falls on Manhattan (1997)](https://ember.film/movie/30515)
- [The Gingerbread Man (1998)](https://ember.film/movie/7134)

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