Puncture

What it's about:

Mike Weiss (Chris Evans) is a talented young Houston lawyer and a functioning drug addict. Paul Danziger (co-director Mark Kassen), his longtime friend and partner, is the traight-laced and responsible yin to Mike's yang.

Their mom-and-pop personal injury law firm is getting by, but things really get interesting when they decide to take on a case involving Vicky (Vinessa Shaw), a local ER nurse, who is pricked by a contaminated needle on the job.

As Weiss and Danziger dig deeper into the case, a health care and pharmaceutical conspiracy teeters on exposure and heavyweight attorneys move in on the defense. Out of their league but invested in their own principles, the mounting pressure of the case pushes the two underdog lawyers and their business to the breaking point. 

What the critics thought:

"Evans works so hard to look like a drug addict that it undermines the character's effort not to look like one."
- Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post


"Does a commendable job of merging its David vs. Goliath elements with Weiss' personal problems, doing justice to the fact that Puncture is based on true people and an actual case."
- Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune


"The film is chock-a-block with extraordinary performances and no one will fault the filmmaking either. This is a well-made movie, make no mistake. It just suffers from a dysfunctional hero."
- Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter