Primal Fear Monologues

An altar boy is accused of murdering a priest, and the truth is buried several layers deep.

Where the hell do you think you're going?

Hey, you look at me when I'm talkin' to you, bitch!

Fuck you, lady! Come here!

You wanna play rough, let's play rough. Come on, lets play rough!

Yeah, keep comin' closer asshole! Don't think I won't break her fuckin' neck!

Fuck you, Marty! I'm walkin' outta slowly. Really slow.

Hell, he couldn't kick his own ass.

I got you. You the lawyer. Well, you sure fucked this one up, didn't you, counselor! Looks to me like they're gonna shoot ol' Aaron so full o' poison it's gonna come out his eyes!

If you lay that tough-man shit on Aaron again, I will kick your fuckin' ass to Sunday!

Mr. Vail?

Will you t-tell Miss Venable I'm sorry? Tell her I hope her neck is okay.

Well… good for you, Marty. I was going to let it go at that. You was looking so happy just now. I was thinking, hmmm God. But to tell you the truth, I'm glad you figured it out, because I have been dying to tell you. I just didn't know who you'd wanna hear it from, you know? Aaron or Roy… or Roy or Aaron. Well, I'll let you in on a little secret. A sort of a client-attorney-privilege type of a secret, you know what I mean? It don't matter who you hear it from. It's the same story.

I j-j-just… had to kill Linda, Mr. Vail.

That cunt just got what she deserved. But... cutting up that son of a bitch Rushman? That was just a fucking work of art.

Yeah. I did get caught, though, didn't I?

Jesus Christ, Marty. If that's what you think, I am disappointed in you, I don't mind telling you. There never was an Aaron... counselor! Come on, Marty! I thought you had it figured, there at the end. The way you put me on the stand like that? That was fucking brilliant, Marty! And that whole thing like "act-like-a-man"? Jesus, I knew exactly what you wanted from me. It was like we were dancing, Marty!

Oh come on, don't be like that, Marty. We did it, man. We fucking did it! We're a great team, you and me. You think I could've done this without you? You're just feeling a little angry here, because you started to care about old Aaron, I can understand that, but... you know, love hurts, Marty. What can I say? Hey, I'm just kidding, bud! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! What else was I supposed to do? Hey, you're gonna thank me down the road, because this is gonna toughen you right up, Martin Vail! You hear me? That's a promise!

On my first day of law school, my professor says two things. First was: from this day forward, when your mother tells you she loves you, get a second opinion.

If you want justice, go to a whorehouse. If you wanna get fucked, go to court.

Why gamble with money when you can gamble with people's lives? That was a joke. All right, I'll tell you. I believe in the notion that people are innocent until proven guilty. I believe in that notion because I choose to believe in the basic goodness of people. I choose to believe that not all crimes are committed by bad people. And I try to understand that some very, very good people do some very bad things.

You either run for office or you wind up a judge. Why become an umpire when you can play ball?

Yeah, I'm Martin Vail, from the public defender's office. I'm handling the Aaron Stampler case.

Yes, thank you, I forgot his real name.

I don't have to believe you. I don't care if you are innocent. I'm your mother, your father, your priest.

I speak. You do not speak. Your job is to just sit there and look innocent.

First thing that I ask a new client is, "Have you been saving up for a rainy day? Guess what? It's raining!"

Mr. Pinero has never been convicted of anything. Cops jumped him, he was left bleeding in the snow. It's a miracle he survived. Having said that, I am not opposed to a settlement.

You can't limit a citizen's right to live wherever he wants to. Legally, that's unenforceable.

It's confusing to me because I have document here from your office that says last year Michael O'Donnell spoke to the supervisor of that unit over a period of two weeks explaining to him - in graphic detail - of the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of Archbishop Rushman. Isn't it also true, Mr. State's attorney, that your "friend" Archbishop Rushman was not going to stand trial for any of it? He owed you big time. You must've been very pissed off when he pulled out of the South River construction deal. What happened? He finally said "I can't take it anymore" and you said "no". You and your investors had sixty millions reasons to kill him!

Just like what you and your "associates" did in killing Joey Pinero just yesterday!

So… what you're telling me is I can't get a fair trial in your courtroom? You're also in league with Shaughnessy and the entire city counsel at covering all this up?

Fine! Do you want me to make that check out to you judge?

Wait... What did you just say? What? You told me just a few minutes ago that you didn't remember. You blacked out. You "lost time" yet again. So, how do you know about her neck?

You're good. You are really good.

So there never... there never was a Roy?