Gerard Butler is ‘Law Abiding Citizen’ gone mad

Gerard Butler in ‘Law Abiding Citizen’
The star of “300,” Gerard Butler is poised to surprise as he stars opposite Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx in the upcoming action-packed thriller “Law Abiding Citizen” where they are pitted against each other in a deadly battle of wits.

The plot revolves around murderer Clyde Sheldon (Butler) who is orchestrating a series of killings in an apparent revenge to the justice system which he believes has not provided enough for the massacre of his family. He is the lone survivor of a random home burglary that claimed the lives of his wife and daughter.

Before going behind bars, Sheldon was an upright family man, then twistedly transformed into a serial killer by the tragedy. He feels that the Philadelphia prosecutor handling his family’s case, Nick Rice (Foxx), didn’t exhaust all means to penalize one of the suspects by giving him a light sentence for testifying against the latter’s accomplice.

Sheldon’s patterned crimes began 10 years after the murderer of his loved ones “got away” from justice. Surprisingly, he coolly admits responsibility and even presents a chilling warning to Rice that he will continue the killing unless the “flawed” justice system is fixed.

Director F. Gary Gray (“Italian Job”) desrcibes Butler’s character as both victim and monster. “Gerard had an immense challenge with this character and delivered one who can live in two worlds. He is an average man who acts out thoughts most of us won’t admit to in a million years.”

Butler spent time with criminologists and explored the psyche of serial killers in preparing for the role. The believable clash between his role and that of Foxx’s proved valuable to the project. “What I have always loved about this movie is how closely these two (characters) are bonded together,” Butler says.

With Kurt Wimmer (“Street Kings”) behind its screenplay, the movie also stars Viola Davis (“Doubt”), Bruce McGill (“Obsessed”), Colm Meaney (“The Commitments”), Leslie Bibb (“Iron Man”), Michael Irby (“The Unit”), and Regina Hall (“Scary Movie”).

Released by Viva International Pictures, “Law Abiding Citizen” opens nationwide on Nov. 4.