Presumed Innocent

After an enjoyable read of Scott Turow's novel, I settled down to watch Alan Pakula's film. I was somewhat disappointed, and not just because of the worn videotape. It is a thin retelling of the story without the rich inner reflections of the book where accused prosecuting attorney Rusty Sabich narrates in the first person his trial on a charge of killing a fellow prosecutor and femme fatale Carolyn Polhemus. Adapation is always a bitch, as Charlie Kaufman wonderfully demonstrated in his film "Adapation" but it works when the film makers realise that they are making a film and not précising the novel. Alan Pakula himself did a very impressive job when he adapted 'the Woodward-Bernstein expose of Watergate, "All The President's Men" and produced a fine film. Here, despite excellent casting and first rate acting, what you see up on the screen, with all the moody, gloomy interiors, is a hard-to follow turgid courtroom drama. The book is an excellent account, written from first-hand experience, of what it's like to be a US-style prosecuting attorney in a large mid-western city as well as being a reasonably intriguing thriller. However, I have trouble with the character of the "victim", played with all stops out by Greta Scacchi. It's true there are women who play on the inability of men with power to behave themselves and they are a convenient plot device, but we finish up not with a character but a stereotype. In the novel Turow does try, with not much success, to divine the reasons why Carolyn is what she was, but the film-makers simply abandon any attempt to explain her otherwise than to hint via her ex-husband (who does not appear in the novel) that she might be some kind of fraud. Anyway, I always feel that the amount of sex that goes on incidental to legal practice is greatly exaggerated, and someone like Carolyn comes along about once a century. In fact the film and the book share one problem in common – the men are real enough but the women are caricatures. Turow is a far better writer than John Grisham, but somehow Grisham's books transfer better to the screen. In fact it seems the worse the book the better the adaptation. However there are some moments when the actors transcend their material, particularly Raul Julia's zen-like performance as defense counsel Sandy Stern. And it has to be said that Greta Scacchi does provide a reason for a prosecuting attorney on the cusp of middle age to throw caution to the winds and engage in an affair. Harrison Ford puts in his usual reliable performance but is somehow not in the centre of things; it might just be the gloomy cinematography but I remember very few close-ups of him.

This film is just another courtroom drama, where a prosecutor, a fairly ordinary and straightforward fellow, is accused of the brutal death of a colleague with whom, after all, he had had an affair. The plot starts in a cold way and takes a while to catch our attention, there is really nothing that holds us and the film looks like it is going to suck. But after we enter the courtroom things really start to get interesting. We followed all the lawyers' arguments and the dialogue with the judge, the pace becomes more pleasant and faster and the twists and turns are taking place, endangering the life of that man who, after all, just wished that his wife had not heard of that stab in the marriage. Harrison Ford is very good when he has to give life to ordinary men but to whom things happen. It is on him that much of the burden of the film falls, depending on his good performance. Beside him, we have a good and discreet Bonnie Bedelia and a sensual Greta Scacchi, with whom the actor gets good sexual chemistry. Raul Julia shone as a lawyer and Paul Winfield also does not do badly in the role of the judge. Not being a very technical film, it is based mostly on the story it tells, and on the excellent performance of the actors. It may not be one of the court films that has aged better, as it is truly forgotten these days, but it deserves to be seen and appreciated for what it is.

This is an OK movie, but it never captured my attention as it should have. Part of it is the obsessive nature of its main character, played by Harrison Ford. He can't separate himself from a memory and a relationship that may or may not have been there. A dead woman really calls the shots here as does some sloppy police work. He finds himself with a murder charge directed at him and little support from his bosses. There are some end of the story shenanigans which you can see for yourself. But, ultimately, I never quite got involved in the depth of Harrison Ford's despair. He generally can pull me in with that pained expression. It just didn't happen.

Presumed Innocent is directed by Alan J. Pakula, who also co-adapts for the screen with Frank Pierson from the Scott Turow novel. It stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Bonnie Bedelia, Raúl Juliá, Paul Winfield, John Spencer and Greta Scacchi. Music is scored by John Williams and Richard Wolf, and cinematography is by Gordon Willis. Prosecuting attorney Rusty Sabich (Ford) suddenly finds himself a murder suspect after his one time lover, Carolyn Polhemus (Scacchi), is found raped and murdered in her home. As the evidence piles up against him, and his marriage comes under further strain, Rusty hires top lawyer Sandy Stern (Juliá) to represent him when the case goes to trial. Battling the system that he knows inside out, Rusty finds that there's a big can of worms about to be opened. A tip top court room mystery drama that we could do with seeing more of these days. Expertly strung together by the director of All the Presidents Men and Sophie's Choice, Presumed Innocent isn't just a by the numbers legal who done it? The makers get in deep with the political machinations of a district attorney's office, the intricate steps of a police investigation, and of course the legal eagle operations of a court room. In to the mix is an horrendous crime, of which a lawyer himself is charged with committing, he may or may not be guilty of the crime, but wonderfully we are never sure until the astonishing finale plays out. The air of mystery hangs heavy throughout, nagging away like an itch you can't scratch, with Pakula neatly unfolding the drama in a collage of flashbacks, side-plots and present time intricacies. Mood is heightened by the photography of Gordon Willis, who along with Pakula's looming camera work, manages to convey a claustrophobic feel in keeping with an unstable marriage and a court room itself. A great cast is assembled for the picture. Ford expertly plays it low key, brooding intently, he makes us unsure as to his guilt or innocence, and that's a testament to how good his performance is. Bedelia is excellent as the stoic wife, holding it together as the marital cracks begin to appear, and Juliá dominates the second half of the picture as we shift to the court room. Dennehy does a nice line in morally compromised smarm, and Scacchi wonderfully exudes a femme fatale sexuality. Winfield is a mighty presence as the judge presiding over such a tricky case, and Spencer is as reliable as ever. Only disappointments come with the performances of Joe Grifasi and Tom Mardirosian, who as the prosecutors come across as wimpy and hardly brick tight lawyers trying a high profile murder case. An intense and intellectual adult drama, Presumed Innocent is one of the best of its type from the modern era. 8.5/10

From Scott Turow's successful novel came this tense drama about a man accused of the rape and murder of a legal colleague with whom he had previously had an affair. Alan J. Pakula's direction, along with strong performances by Harrison Ford, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Brian Dennehy and all the other supporting cast, contribute strongly to a film that keeps you guessing until the very end; which by the way, will shock the sox off ya. This is a thriller that never gets out of hand, or goes over the top. All credit to Alan J. Pakula and Frank Pierson's adaptation. Great down to earth stuff. Sunday, June 16, 1991 - Video

Besides being dragged out and a little convoluted, this movie has inconsistencies that give away the ending early into the film. Mrs. Savage is simply too *nice* given all the trouble that's hit that fan. When you first see husband and wife together you assume she's clueless about the affair, just from their chemistry. It's bad enough her husband had an affair with a sexy young blonde , now he's in all kinds of legal dodo. No wife would respond as compassionately as her, without some occasional flare- up of anger and sarcasm from buried hostility. The ending is a mess with a way too drawn out confession. It made me regret sitting thought the film, as much as I like Harrison Ford playing a bad boy now and then. Maybe this role helped land him a much better character in "What Lies Beneath." The film should have simply ended with him finding the blood hammer and then let the audience's imagination fill in the rest. (which by the way is the LAST thing a killer would leave laying around without washing it off - duh) It's also unusually sad to leave the cute little son an orphan because of his dad's bad behavior. The movie's a bummer.

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source: Presumed Innocent

This is a story that could be believable in real life. There are just enough plot twists and turns that keep you glued to the screen, but don't insult your intelligence. Harrison Ford is able to show his acting skills without all the hype of action and stunts. There are quite a few good character actors that also give fine performances. John Spencer, Paul Winfeld, Bonnie Bedelia and Brian Dennehy, which alway raises the level a notch. Also, preserved in this is cinema's lost treasure, Raul Julia. I'm not real big in flashback scenes, but these with Greta Scacchi are done very tastefully and give her a starring role even though her death is the central plot.

The 9-year old son just enters with clean hands into the kitchen happily, right after burying his goldfish in the garden, and starts to eat with those hands that dug the dead fish in. And he is joyful. What an interesting movie it is.