Big step down from A Few Good Men

AFGM leaves all other courtroom dramas in the dust. Everything and everyone was firing on all cylinders, and one of the best things about it was that it put forward both sides of the argument without excessive prejudice - Nicholson actually made a good case for his philosophy and the film presented a dilemna.

Ghosts Of Mississippi was typical of Reiner’s post-AFGM career - solid but mediocre at best, he’s not operating at the height of his intelligence and talent, and it felt like propaganda with James Woods’ character as a one-dimensional cackling racist with zero complexity, a caricature basically.

Reiner’s golden period was when he was working with great screenwriters like William Goldman, Aaron Sorkin and Nora Ephron. Now he’s a Democrat drone he seems to have lobotomised himself.

A film like American History X managed to criticise racism while understanding the psychology and motivations of racists.