William Bareford

University Honors with Honors in Film Studies

Major: Film Studies Minors: Creative Writing and English

Supervisor: Chip Hackler, Film Studies

Analyzing “My Brother’s Counsel”: The films and research that shaped the screenplay

Courtroom dramas are an important piece of Hollywood’s repertoire. From the advent of cinema, film has been utilized to tell stories that revolve around the United States legal system. “My Brother’s Counsel” is a screenplay written in the tradition of previous courtroom dramas. The screenplay concerns a young man, Cain, as he works on his first death penalty case. During the process of telling Cain’s story, “My Brother’s Counsel” employs many of the same narrative devices that have made previous courtroom dramas successful. “My Brother’s Counsel” was written to portray the life of a public defender in as compelling, and as real, a way as possible. This thesis examines the specific films, as well as the real world research, involved with the writing process.