Who better to play the explosively wacked-out music genius in Phil Spector than Al Pacino? Here, Spector is living in self-delusional isolation and still taking way too many drugs, and he’s on trial for his life. His defense lawyer (Helen Mirren) faces a dilemma – the only way the court will hear her best evidence is if she first calls her very unsympathetic client to the stand.
Phil Spector is written and directed by David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Games), but it’s very minor Mamet. The only reason to watch Phil Spector is for the inevitable Pacino meltdown. That meltdown is a doozy, but it exposes Phil Spector as more of a freak show than a complete film.