Nuts (1987)

**Nuts (1987)** plunges viewers into the turbulent world of Claudia Faye Jensen, a high-class call girl forced to defend herself with lethal force against a violent customer. The ensuing scandal threatens to destroy her life, and to protect their reputation, her affluent parents orchestrate a plan to have her declared mentally incompetent. Claudia, deeply distrustful of everyone around her, including her court-appointed attorney, Aaron Levinsky, finds herself in a desperate battle for her freedom and sanity within the confines of a courtroom. Her volatile and disruptive behavior during hearings only fuels the prosecution's case, painting her as unstable and unreliable, while Levinsky struggles to break through her defenses and build a coherent strategy. While Martin Ritt is renowned for his socially conscious dramas like "Hud" and "Norma Rae," *Nuts* showcases his ability to delve into complex character studies with a gritty realism. Ritt masterfully crafts a tense and claustrophobic atmosphere, highlighting the psychological toll of trauma and societal judgment. Barbra Streisand delivers a powerful, raw performance as Claudia, imbuing the character with a fierce vulnerability that is both captivating and heartbreaking. Ritt's direction allows for moments of intense emotional confrontation, particularly between Streisand and Richard Dreyfuss as Levinsky, exploring themes of mistrust, class disparity, and the desperate fight for agency in a system rigged against the marginalized. *Nuts*, though perhaps a darker and more commercially driven offering than some of his earlier works, still bears the hallmarks of Ritt's directorial skill in its unflinching examination of human resilience and the corrupting influence of secrets.