The Trials of Cate McCall – Messy, moody, kinda good

So I rewatched The Trials of Cate McCall the other night, this time with a half-eaten ostbågar bag and a cold Coke Zero. And I gotta be honest – it’s one of those films where you sit there half-impressed, half-annoyed. Directed by Karen Moncrieff (yeah, she did The Dead Girl, remember that weird little gem?) and starring Kate Beckinsale, who does her best trying to look like she hasn’t slept since 2008.

The plot’s all about this burnt-out lawyer, Cate, who’s got issues stacked higher than a midsommar-smörgåsbord. She’s got addiction problems, a custody mess, and now she’s taking on a wrongful conviction case ’cause… well, redemption stuff. Nick Nolte shows up too. Looks like some tired bear who wandered out of a whiskey commercial. Love him though.

What really stuck with me? There’s this scene where Cate’s trying to connect with her daughter and fails so awkwardly it made my stomach ache. Reminded me of this fika with my cousin in Örebro – she’d just gotten out of a really rough patch, tried to reconnect with her teenage son, and he just… wasn’t having it. It was painful. That thing where people wanna fix the past with one bold gesture – movies love that, but real life’s messier.

The film tries to be heavy. And sometimes it is. But it also flirts with cliché a bit too much, like it watched too many Law & Orders on a Sunday binge and thought “yeah, this is deep.” But then again, I think maybe I liked it? Sorta? Beckinsale really pulls some proper emotion. She’s good when she gets raw and messy.

Would I recommend it? Maybe. Just don’t expect magic. And maybe don’t watch it when you’re already feeling kinda blå. Might push you over.

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