Hollywood law school

“Primal Fear” (1996)

Lesson 1: Blame it on the alter ego

Before the colossal stinkfest that was “Death to Smoochy” (no, we’ll never get over it), Edward Norton acted his pasty arse off as an altar boy who Richard Gere defends from accusations of priest-killing in this nail-biting courtroom drama.

Norton’s star-making performance as altar boy Aaron and his alter ego Roy led to a twist ending more shocking than “The Crying Game” (she’s a dude!), “The Sixth Sense” (he’s a ghost!) and “Muppets Take Manhattan” (somebody’s getting married!) combined.