Links:

Innocently Guilty - Pháp Nội Tình

ATV production - 2002 (Posted 05/30/04)

English/Chinese name	Vietnamese name	Role
Felix Wong Yat Wah	Huỳnh Nhật Hòa	Đệ Ngũ Lương
Anita	Viên Vịnh Nghi	Lâm Thiên Ân
?	Điềm Nữu	Lâm Cẫm Yến
?	?	James
Anthony Lau	Lưu Vĩnh	Quan toà ? (Judge ?)-the nice one
?	?	Marco
?	?	Quan toà Mã (Judge Ma)-the corrupted one
?	?	PK
?	?	Nhu Nhu
?	Trịnh Tăc Sỹ	La Mập
?	?	Laywer Thư Văn (Sherman)
?	?	Lawyer Pauline
Erica Choi	Thái Hiểu Nhi	Annie
The plot: Once upon a time, a young and talented singer met a yound and nice man. They got married and had a cute baby girl. However, the man changed to a liar and became addicted to gambling. The wife could not persuade him to be a good person again, so she left him after he was jailed for killing somebody. Due to a difficult life in Hong Kong, the wife left the infant girl in an orphanage with the nuns while she worked at the parlor to support the well being of her daughter. The little girl grew up to be a beautiful and intelligent lawyer who possessed highly professional morals. She believed that justice was there to protect the innocences no matter how poor they are, and it was also there to punish criminals no matter how powerful or rich they are. Thus, she took several tough cases due to her strong ethical beliefs. Here are some examples: The cases: Mom's first case: She did not know that it was her biological mother yet, but she took this murder case upon recent graduation from law school. She was full of energy and faith in the justice system that everybody (despite social status) deserves a fair trial. She was convinced that the defendent (a prostitute) killed due to self-defense, so she won the case with the words straight from a hard-working lawyer. It was great to see the nun walking into the court and made a "white" lie to hide the real mother-daughter relationship to protect this young lawyer's potentially successful career. I think the nun's lie was justified for a good cause, and I am sure that God would forgive her. Mom's second case: Let's start with the corrupted policeman. This guy did not have a single good bone in him. He was a crook who always demanded bribery and beat up women badly. No respect for this type of person! When he discovered the lawyer's identity, he never stopped blackmailing her mother. When she could not afford the money anymore, she broke into his apartment hoping to be able to find the evidence that he used to blackmail her. Unfortunately, he got home right in the middle of her act. They got into a fight, and she shot him out of self-defense. The lawyer was really angry this time because she thought that this "woman" was helpless since she committed murder the second time. As she was about to give up hopes that the defendant could transform into a better person in society, the nun could not resist anymore. She told the truth that the young lawyer was indeed the defendant's biological daughter. Being so happy and shocked, the lawyer worked the case night and day. She finally won the case by telling the jury the exact reason of why this lady killed the corrupted and greedy cop. She gave up her career to exchange for her mother's freedom. How sweet was that!!! (I almost broke in tears at this episode). Again, she won another case by speaking from the heart! Judge Ma's case: He was a sleazy judge, and this attorney could not stand his sight! He was accused of sex abuse, and to everybody's surprise, he requested/chose her as the defense lawyer. Of course she did not want to do it at all because he had been such a jerk in real life (very greedy, corrupted and unfair, to name a few of his bad characteristics), but she must accept the case; otherwise, her career would go downhill since he was pretty powerful in the juridiscial system. She was able to collect some evidences that he did not abuse the girl, but he did not show any remorse for being such an a..s hole (excuse me)! Even when he was in court behind the bars, he still whispered to her ears of how terrible he would be once his case became clear. During the trial, the prosecutor (my beloved Felix) built a good case against Judge Ma and was confident that the jury would convict this guy. Then that would be a significant date in the court history indicating that even a powerful and popular judge like Judge Ma still could not escape the law. The defense lawyer "shot" the prosecutor down when she actually prosecuted Judge Ma herself by portraying him as the guilty person! Her sharp words and quick reactions stunted everybody. The outcome of this case: Judge Ma was sent to jail (yay!). I enjoyed this case the most because it was so exciting and unpredictable. Likes: Without Felix in the series, I probably would not even watch it. Although I know in advance that Felix did not have lots of screen time, his appearance is always at the right moment. His character is so noble, and I must admit that he has a little attitude throughout the majority parts of the show. However, I LOVE his attitude tee hee. He could not see the blended gray area in the criminal's mind. To him, black is black and white is white. Sometimes he let this firm belief overshadowed his soft and nice human side. The audience can see that Felix acts this role with ease. He reminds me of Gene Hackman's flawless performance in Runaway Jury. They both just stand there and dominate the screen without much effort at all. Anita's character and performance: she was so natural in her role, and I never realize how beautiful her eyes can be. She was one of those girls that look cute in short hair. I like how she works really hard and shops really hard as well (haha, I can relate to that). Honorable mention to Điềm Nữu (the mother). Not sure if this was her "come back" role to television, but she did a wonderful job in both funny and sad scenes. I last saw her in the real-life wedding video of her and Alex Man. She did not change much. What was that guy thinking for divorcing her? I do not know the real details or whose fault that was, but she surely looks better while he does not. Like a Hollywood saying, "looking good is the best revenge." Dislikes: Too many extra characters: Anita's grandmother, her father, Marco and another Judge played by Anthony Lau (I'm always a big fan of him, please check out the series The Rise and Fall of the Great Wall). They need to develop more on the latter characters while shorten the parts of the former ones. Indeed, the episodes with her grandmother and father made me yawn so many times! In contrast, there was no developed story line for Marco and the other Judge. By the way, Marco is kind off cute. Why did they have to kill PK? Nhu Nhu and he deserve a happy ending. C'on, the guy would do anything to steal her heart, and once she accepts him, the writer decides to give him cancer. I'm steaming mad here. Should have more screen time between Felix and Anita. Those two look good together when they fight (except I do not like the fact that he loses all the time :-)). My two cents: There was a saying, "If you love somebody, do not advise him/her to become a lawyer!" I agree! It's one of the toughest jobs, and I know I can never be a good one. I probably would do better as a prosecutor because I hate being in a position when I know that the defendant is guilty and I still have to defend him/her. That's pretty much against my conscience, and I would fail miserably. So, kudos to those of you that are in law school or are practicing law!