bigverybadtom A woman lawyer is Christmas shopping with her carpenter husband when all of a sudden, he is arrested by the federal government, and deprived of his clothes. Then he gets a new outfit-the uniform of a United States Marine sergeant, and he is charged with going AWOL after a covert mission in El Salvador where he is supposed to have committed the crime of massacring a group of civilians in a village in the 1980's.The woman suspects her husband is being railroaded when she finds a bug placed in her home and her defending counsel an inexperienced first lieutenant, as well as witnesses to the incident disappearing. She finds a black disgruntled ex-soldier as a defense counsel, who knows the ways of the military bureaucracy. She also hears from a man claiming to have been in the village where the massacre took place.Events in the movie lead us to suspect the husband is being railroaded-but what is really going on? This is based on a novel of the same title, but reportedly different from it. But holes crop up as the story continues, and we wonder if this sort of situation would have occurred in real life.

tsakiridis1217 While watching "High Crimes" you can't just not fall in love with Ashley Judd. People have been saying it for years and now it's my turn: I'm telling you, the camera loves that woman. And besides her, Morgan Freeman is delivering in what might be one of the least demanding roles in his career.But the composition of the film falls way too short. Perhaps it's the fact that there are so many movies out there covering the same ground: sudden arrest, then court, pretty drama, unnecessary characters then filling the running time (to be specific, what is Amanda Peet actually doing here?), then courtrooms with typical types of personalities: the smart ones, the flat ones, the evil ones, the heroes and the judge. Everything is watchable for 2 and only reasons: Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman.By the time this movie got made, Mr. Freeman had the status of playing a cop-doctor (in the under-appreciated "Kiss the Girls" and "Along Came A Spider" as Alex Cross), so why not see him as a lawyer? I'm sold. His characters' words and ways in the movie are the only things exciting. Of course, perhaps you will wonder like I do, how is he recovering so easily from drunken status when the plot needs him to? Well, give the movie a credit, that's the least important mistake it makes.In general, I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys good but not great film-making. It never enlightens us with power and it can't give us the chills but it won't disappoint if you cut it some slack from the beginning. Perfect for a Friday night I guess.

MarieGabrielle Yes, the title is a bit generic but this film warrants more than one viewing and Morgan Freeman is excellent (as he usually is).Ashley Judd is Claire Kubik married to former Marine, Jim Caviezel. It starts predictably with the happy married couple trying to have a baby, so I see where some may tune out at this point, but it gets better. There are some nice shots of San Francisco and Oakland where Claire practices law.Early into the film, her husband is arrested by the FBI in an overblown scene and charged with 8 murders in Mexico. Military law is not her expertise so her lawyer at the firm recommends attorney Grimes (Freeman).He is a recovering alcoholic and formerly a stellar attorney. He knows all the loopholes and teaches Claire a few in court. There are flashbacks to scenes in Monte Azul where in 1988 several murders took place in South America and there was a military cover-up. A few officers with actors like Michael Shannon and others have bit parts. Amanda Peet is Claire's sister Jackie, and gives the story some comic relief. Breuce Davison is also good as the nefarious General who knows the true facts.Normally the film would be an 8 but Morgan Freeman elevates the performances here and is believable as a man who has "hit zero" too many times and now must make a comeback. Claire learns a few disturbing truths as well, her life is changed for the better, though she endures a miscarriage and murder attempts as she is defending her husband during the murder trial.Overall a definite must see for anyone who likes a decent story, and Morgan Freeman. 9/10.

leplatypus I have learned two things watching this movie: 1) If you are fan, focus on the prime and not the beginnings unless you only see the star you support as supportive cast at best if it isn't just in background: As an Amanda's fan, this movie belongs to her beginnings so we don't see her a lot. But she is perfect as the liberal, inhibited young sister.2) America has an extrovert relationship with violence, thus with military that is its legalized form. So she can do movies about wars (Vietnam, Gulf, Cold-war) or the military world (this one for example). In France, all those things are kept hidden under the rug and french citizen are forbidden to watch movies about decolonization, Indochine, Algeria, ... This is the real trademark of my country: no movies on politics, institutions. The facts aren't distributed by movies in France thus it's hard to have an opinion in my country and I don't really think we can call us a true democracy.That's why a movie like this is like a breath of fresh air, above it depicts the "the big mute" (the nickname of the army in France) as well indeed a big mute... However, if the cast is talented and we feel a good chemistry between Jude and Freeman, the movie doesn't really kick-ass. Maybe it's because the classified crimes is a bit too faraway. By the way, for a movie about soldiers,there are paradoxically a lot of cries!