Damages

Forget all those TV drama-comedy law shows like Boston Legal—the real action in a lawsuit is much closer to the deliberate, flat pacing of Damages, filmmaker Thomas Balmes' revealing documentary about the inner workings of the Connecticut law firm of Koskoff, Koskoff and Bieder. The hugely successful company specializes in personal injury compensation, raking in over $100 billion over the years from a wide variety of cases in which every type of conceivable human loss is attached to a dollar amount (where an arm or a leg have actual costs). Balmes has access to many different kinds of meetings at the firm, offering viewers an inside look at cases ranging from a botched delivery of a baby, to a lesbian couple's wish to sue a hospital. Along the way, we also see such behind-the-scenes strategic activities as mock trials and the counseling of clients on proper behavior and attire for trial days. Balmes refuses to sensationalize the dry, painstaking, and essentially amoral process of piecing together a case that will either gamble on a jury's emotions or the willingness of a plaintiff's attorneys to settle out-of-court for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. An intriguing documentary on an ethically fascinating topic, Damages is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)