dierregi In the early 90s Grisham and Turow were the golden boys of legal drama. They churned out novel after novel, followed by movies of decreasing success. "Presumed Innocent", adapted from a long novel by Turow, is one of the first of these movies.Grisham plots tend to be rather simple, Turow's are more labyrinthine, with a large dose of politics added to the thriller. While a larger scope may benefit a novel, it is definitely detrimental to this movie.Rusty Sabich, played by a Harrison Ford in top form, is a chief deputy D.A. struggling with a guilty conscience. Rusty is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of his secret ex-lover and colleague Carolyn (an equally enthralling Scacchi). He proceeds, despite the huge conflict of interest.All clues point to him as the murderer, so we are given to believe that despite feeling bad about smashing his ex-lover's head, he will still try to cheat justice.The very long and politically incorrect "investigation" shows Carolyn in flashbacks, as somebody who had it coming. Rusty digs at some old case of corruption, involving political enemies and manages to drag this unrelated dirty laundry to court, leading to a mistrial.However, the truth is revealed at the end: the killer is actually Barbara, Rusty's frustrated - and deranged - wife. She plotted the murder for months in meticulous creepy details. The audience is left with Rusty planning to atone by spending the rest of his life with his nutty wife, because she is the mother of his child…. not a smart move, considering how revengeful she is…What could have been a passable thriller with a decent surprise-ending is spoiled and watered down by the political sub-plot. A tighter story at least 30 minutes shorter could have made for a more engaging view, the courtroom scenes are long and outdated and the dialogue is repetitive, with silly gags such as the judge purposely and childishly mispronouncing the name Della Guardia every time he gets a chance (which is way too often).

Lechuguilla This is one of those films that has a terrific, spellbinding ending, but to grasp the significance of that ending, the viewer must endure a slow, plodding, two-hour story that slowly builds suspense with subtleties and tedious detail.Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a smart prosecuting attorney who comes under suspicion in the murder of an attractive female colleague. The first half builds the back-story, establishes the main characters, and sets up appropriate red herrings. The second half is set mostly in the courtroom, where a trial plays out in interesting ways. Near the end, we think we know the solution to the mystery, but we are in for a surprise twist, one which I never saw coming.The script presents us with a legal dilemma, one that's fascinating to ponder because it is so bizarre. In so doing, the film has great thematic depth. But the slow, plodding plot seems tedious, with long scene-takes and considerable dialogue. Most scenes are set indoors. Characters trend stereotyped upper-middle class. The tone is serious and intense.Production values are generally good, with excellent prod design and effective though dimly lit visuals. Background music is annoyingly elevator-style that amplifies the plot's lethargy. Casting is acceptable except for Harrison Ford, with his never changing facial expression and monotone voice that's tantamount to Chinese water torture. Almost any other actor would have been preferable. I enjoyed the performances of Raul Julia in the role of Sabich's lawyer and Paul Winfield in the role of the Judge.Despite a slow plot and the casting of Harrison Ford, I recommend this film, with its deep legal themes and terrific ending. The plot is very subtle, a characteristic which one doesn't see much of in current films.

Raul Faust Well, this movie has the classic case in which the accuser becomes the accused, getting able to understand how it feels to be in such position. In the whole movie, many evidences lead to believe in the prosecutor's guilt, and sincerely, he doesn't seem to do his best to prove the contrary. The cast is decent, with highlights to Raul Julia, who greatly portrayed a lawyer doing his best. However, what makes this movie worth a watch is the outcome; since evidences all indicated that the murderer would be a guy, it felt extremely hard to guess that Rusty's wife would be the one. Also, the scene in which everything is explained feels quite tense, due to the great comes and goes that director throws at us. Besides, her reasons are WELL thought and intelligently written, and I don't mind if it was in the original novel or not; it simply works in the movie, so it deserves my congratulations. To be honest, this movie's novel has been standing in my ex-boss' camera (he is a judge) for long time, and I've always wanted to know what it was about. Well, now I fortunately do, and reading it may become an option for me in the future. In my opinion, "Presumed Innocent" is a great movie that adds a few steps to the genre, and deserved to be more known than it was.

AaronCapenBanner Alan J. Pakula directed this courtroom drama/mystery based on a Scott Turow novel that stars Harrison Ford as Deputy D.A. Rusty Sabich, who becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a coworker named Carolyn(played by Greta Scacchi) whom he was also having an affair with, despite being happily married to his wife(played by Bonnie Bedelia) He gets respected attorney 'Sandy' Stern(played by Raul Julia) to defend him, and their ensuing investigation leads them to some surprising secrets and motives, though the ultimate truth will hit Rusty close to home... Not bad film certainly has a fine cast and efficient direction, though it's always a pity to see a finely tuned script saddled with too much profanity and seediness. Still worth seeing though.