Het Vonnis

I think the courtroom scenes are well written, but the film had to end sooner. That way the message of Jan Verheyen would have had a bigger impact on the spectator. For me at least it'd do.

With 'Het Vonnis', Verheyen addresses the gap between justice and the law, but the lack of subtlety nearly sinks the film before it even starts. Early scenes are mawkishly sentimental, shots annoyingly intrusive and, as per every Belgian production of the last decade, riddled with a slew of referential and obligatory English dialogues that tend to grate. Even the far more interesting courtroom scenes eventually overstay their welcome but manage to lend the film some welcome dramatic weight.