The cinematic adaptation of Suzie Miller’s acclaimed stage play, Prima Facie, featuring Cynthia Erivo as a high-flying barrister whose world unravels after she becomes a sexual assault victim, has largely been met with critical disappointment despite its crucial and timely message. While the original one-woman theatrical production garnered widespread praise and significant awards, including Olivier and Tony wins for its powerful performances, the film version struggles to translate its potent narrative to the screen, often undermining its vital themes with clumsy execution and inconsistent direction. This Prima Facie review highlights a missed opportunity to deliver a powerful cinematic statement on justice for rape victims.
The Theatrical Phenomenon and Its Resonant Message
Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie first captivated audiences as a searing one-woman show, becoming a theatrical sensation for its raw, unflinching exploration of the legal system’s failings in addressing sexual assault. The play, which debuted to immense critical acclaim, earned the 2023 Olivier Award for Best New Play, with Jodie Comer receiving both an Olivier and a Tony Award for her galvanizing performance as Tessa Ensler. Its success stemmed from its intimate, direct address to the audience, creating an immersive and profoundly empathetic experience that laid bare the emotional and legal complexities faced by survivors. The play’s impact resonated deeply, tapping into a global conversation about consent, victim-blaming, and the systemic barriers to justice. Its narrative, focusing on a barrister who built her career defending men accused of sexual assault only to find herself on the other side of the courtroom, offered a uniquely incisive critique of how the law often fails to serve those it purports to protect. The stage version’s power was rooted in its ability to evoke visceral anger and a profound plea for reform, a quality critics hoped would transfer to the screen.
From Stage to Screen: The Adaptation Challenge
The transition of such a critically lauded and thematically significant work from the intimate confines of a stage monologue to a feature film presents inherent challenges. Director Susanna White, known for her sharp and intelligent work on series like Generation Kill and the thriller Our Kind of Traitor, undertook the task of expanding Miller’s script for the cinematic medium. This involved introducing a wider cast of characters and broadening the narrative scope beyond Tessa’s singular perspective. The intent behind this adaptation was clear: to bring the play’s urgent message to a wider global audience, leveraging the visual storytelling capabilities of film. However, the critical reception at its premiere, including at the Toronto International Film Festival, suggested that the adaptation largely faltered, struggling to maintain the intensity and focus that made the stage play so compelling.
Tessa Ensler’s Unraveling World
The film introduces Cynthia Erivo as Tessa Ensler, a brilliant and ambitious British barrister from a working-class background who has risen to prominence in London’s legal circles. Her expertise lies in defending clients accused of sexual assault, a role that initially portrays her as a master of the legal system’s intricacies, particularly around the nuances of consent. The opening scenes attempt to establish Tessa’s character and the world she inhabits with heavy-handed visual metaphors. For instance, as Tessa approaches the Old Bailey courthouse, her formal barrister’s robe and wig are juxtaposed with black-sequined sneakers, an immediate visual cue to her non-conformist yet ambitious nature. Her internal monologue, often lifted directly from the play, describes her colleagues as "thoroughbreds," a sentiment immediately followed by literal images of horses, a directorial choice that many critics found overtly obvious and lacking in subtlety.
Early exposition further lays the groundwork for the narrative’s central conflict, with Tessa explaining to a junior colleague the legal precedent that often hinges on the accused’s belief in consent, rather than the victim’s actual consent. This dialogue, while crucial for foreshadowing, often feels clunky and primarily directed at the audience, serving as a didactic setup for Tessa’s impending personal crisis.
The Assault and Its Flawed Portrayal
The narrative progresses to depict Tessa’s burgeoning relationship with Julian, a fellow rising-star lawyer portrayed with a winning charm by Daniel Ings. Ings’ performance as Julian, a departure from his usual roles, is noted as one of the film’s stronger casting choices. After a successful date, Tessa and Julian have consensual sex. However, later that evening, feeling unwell from too much wine, Tessa refuses Julian’s subsequent advances. What unfolds next is unequivocally a violation, meticulously crafted by Miller to be legally ambiguous and morally reprehensible, forcing the audience to confront the complexities of consent.
Yet, the film’s portrayal of this pivotal moment has been widely criticized for its directorial execution. Director Susanna White’s stated intention was to use imagery and sound to convey Tessa’s inner thoughts and trauma. However, this translated on screen into a series of jarring and heavy-handed techniques: the focus blurs, Julian’s expression contorts into fury, and images of shattered glass appear. These surreal touches, combined with thumping sound effects that overtly underscore the violence, often feel out of place and diminish the scene’s emotional impact, turning a potentially visceral experience into an oddly disjointed one. Critics argued that these choices demonstrated a lack of trust in the audience’s ability to grasp the gravity of the situation without overt visual and auditory cues.
Erivo’s Performance: A Glimmer of Impact
Following the assault, the film briefly achieves the profound impact it aims for, largely thanks to Cynthia Erivo’s powerful and nuanced performance. As Tessa grapples with the immediate aftermath and the decision to report the assault, Erivo eloquently conveys a spectrum of pain, confusion, and self-doubt. A particularly strong sequence depicts Tessa at the police station, the camera holding tight on her face as she answers officers’ questions. Here, the voiceover, which had previously been criticized for its clunkiness, becomes remarkably effective. It articulates Tessa’s unspoken thoughts and anxieties: her regret over showering and washing away evidence, deleting a text from Julian, and her awareness that her own actions might undermine her case – insights born from her professional experience on the other side of such cases. This segment stands out as a raw and emotionally resonant depiction of a survivor navigating the immediate bureaucratic hurdles of justice, showcasing Erivo’s formidable acting prowess.
The Courtroom Drama: Losing Focus
However, the film quickly shifts back into a more conventional, and ultimately less effective, courtroom drama. Tessa, now on the stand, delivers a monologue that, despite its powerful content, feels stage-bound and clichéd. While the substance of her speech — highlighting how expectations of logic and consistency from rape victims often run counter to the disorienting nature of trauma — is profoundly important, its cinematic presentation fails to elevate it beyond a theatrical soliloquy. The inherent challenge of adapting a play-driven monologue to the screen becomes apparent, as the film struggles to integrate this crucial emotional core into a visually dynamic or naturalistic narrative.
Miller’s screenplay does succeed in bringing to life characters only mentioned in the original play, enriching Tessa’s personal context. Noma Dumezweni delivers a moving performance as Tessa’s mother, a cleaning woman who, despite her limited understanding of her daughter’s elite legal world, offers unwavering support while fearing for Tessa’s brilliant future. Toheeb Jimoh, known for his role in Ted Lasso, effectively portrays Tessa’s brother, whose visceral reaction to the assault, attempting to confront Julian, highlights class differences and raw familial protectiveness. These supporting performances are lauded as among the film’s few redeeming qualities, offering a glimpse of the emotional depth that the overall production often lacks.
Broader Implications and Missed Opportunities
The critical consensus around Prima Facie paints a picture of a well-intentioned film that fundamentally misfired in its execution. The struggle to translate the visceral power of the one-woman stage play into a compelling cinematic experience represents a significant missed opportunity. In an era where conversations around sexual assault, consent, and legal reform are more urgent than ever, a film adaptation of such a celebrated play had the potential to be a groundbreaking cultural touchstone. Instead, its clunky directorial choices, inconsistent pacing, and an inability to fully leverage the cinematic medium diluted its impact.
The film’s reception also raises broader questions for the entertainment industry regarding the adaptation of highly acclaimed theatrical works. The success of a stage play often relies on a different set of artistic principles – direct address, minimalist staging, and a singular focus – which do not always translate seamlessly to the screen without significant re-imagining. Prima Facie serves as a cautionary tale, demonstrating that a powerful message, while vital, requires equally powerful and appropriate cinematic storytelling to fully resonate with a film audience.
Despite its shortcomings, the core message of Prima Facie remains undeniably important. It continues to be a "howl of rage and a plea for change," pushing for a re-evaluation of how the legal system handles sexual assault cases and advocating for greater empathy and understanding for victims. While the film may not achieve the artistic triumph of its source material, its existence contributes to the ongoing public discourse on these critical issues.
Conclusion: A Potent Message, A Flawed Vessel
Ultimately, the cinematic Prima Facie stands as a poignant reminder that intent alone cannot guarantee artistic success. While Cynthia Erivo delivers a commendable performance and the supporting cast shines, the film as a whole struggles to transcend its theatrical origins. Its important message about the complexities of consent and the pursuit of justice for sexual assault victims is undoubtedly crucial, but the film’s execution often feels heavy-handed, detracting from the very resonance it seeks to achieve. The adaptation of Prima Facie will likely be remembered as a film that earnestly attempted to tackle a vital social issue, yet ultimately stumbled in its cinematic delivery, leaving critics with the impression of a well-meaning but flawed endeavor.
