This is How Movies Should Be Made

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

PRESUMED INNOCENT is a gripping courtroom drama that feels like a Perry Mason episode given big bucks treatment. It stars Harrison Ford in one of his sympathetic 'everyman hero' type roles as an attorney who is asked to investigate the brutal rape and murder of a female colleague with whom he had a rather complicated history. What follows is a thriller packed with twists and turns and great acting from the supporting cast, none of whom put a foot wrong. I really enjoy these court thrillers that get to the heart of the justice system as they're just as exciting as more routine action-based thrillers. PRESUMED INNOCENT boasts exemplary direction, fast pacing, and intelligent dialogue thanks to the literate script; it's obvious the writer has done their job properly. However, as a character-focused drama, this works best thanks a whole slew of fine acting performances.Ford is great when he's playing it worried and on the edge. He's subdued here, but his flawed hero is one you can really root for. Greta Scacchi is an electrifying presence although only used in flashback, and Bonnie Bedelia plays another strong wife role. Paul Winfield is excellent as the judge and I wish he'd been used better throughout his career. Brian Dennehy has a small but intense and important role. I also liked John Spencer's likable turn as Ford's buddy. Even the kid from JURASSIC PARK is in this one and giving a strong performance. Best of all is the delightful Raul Julia in the best role I've seen from him as the dedicated defence lawyer. PRESUMED INNOCENT is a film that keeps you guessing throughout and ends on a satisfying and surprising way.

This is a powerful movie with a terrific performance by Harrison Ford. It might even be his most thoughtful one.Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a prosecuting attorney whose life and career are unravelling. He has damaged his marriage to Barbara Sabich (Bonnie Bedelia) by having a torrid affair with an ambitious assistant, Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi), and despite the fact that she ended the affair, he can't get over it. "You're still obsessing", his wife accuses him, and she's right, he has withdrawn into himself and just seems to be going through the motions. When Carolyn is murdered, he is ordered to handle the case, but murky layers are exposed throughout the legal profession, and eventually he becomes the number one suspect.This is an absorbing, complex mystery from Scott Turow's novel with enough courtroom drama to put it in a class with "Anatomy of a Murder", "The Paradine Case" and "Witness for the Prosecution".It was directed by Alan J. Pakula; a master of the mystery/thriller genre. His best ones had plenty of atmosphere and not a little darkness. "Klute", "The Parallax View", "All the Presidents Men", "Dream Lover" and "Consenting Adults" are all his. He was never a real name-above-the-title director like Hitchcock or Polanski, but his work was often as distinctive.The cast really delivers: Bonnie Bedelia, Raúl Juliá, Brian Dennehy, and especially John Spencer as Dan Lipranzer, but no actress at the time was hotter than Greta Scacchi. She sizzles in a couple of scenes making believable poor old Rusty's befuddlement when she dumps him. These days, it's interesting to see Greta 25 years later in more sedate roles in "Miss Marple" and "Agatha Christie's Poirot".But this is Harrison Ford's film and he dug deep here - you can feel his pain as he wrestles with his guilt over the betrayal of his wife, and his humiliation in front of his friend, the tough Lapranzer, as he tries to distance himself from Carolyn's murder.Along with the great look of the film, the music helps with the feel. The brilliant Michael Small was usually Pakula's go-to composer, but for some reason John Williams got the job. You have to admire William's range - he can do anything. He came up with a low-key, dark-hued score for this film with simple piano chords to the fore. There were some very good scores around the 1990's, and this one can stand comparison to Jerry Goldsmith's 1992 score for "Basic Instinct"."Presumed Innocent" was a big hit when it was released - it's still a not-to-be-missed movie.

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.

Alan J. Pakula, known primarily for his conspiracy movies ("Klute", "The Parallax View", "Rollover", "The Pelican Brief", "All the President's Men"), directs "Presumed Innocent", a very good if somewhat conventional courtroom drama.The film stars Harrison Ford as a talented prosecutor who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a colleague with whom he had an adulterous affair. The film's first act is very slow, its second act is a fun exercise in paranoia, courtroom pyrotechnics and dispensed red herrings, and the film's climax is excellent, until, of course, Pakula's real killer is revealed. Films like this rely heavily on misdirection. The audience likes to be kept guessing. It's difficult to then reveal the killer and not have your audience feel somewhat cheated.Like many of Pakula's films, "Presumed Innocent" maintains an ominous tone throughout, and there is always the feeling of off screen characters plotting, conspiring and moving our heroes about like pawns. The film was part of a wave ("Fatal Attraction", "Final Analysis", "Basic Instinct", "Jade", "Disclosure", "Single White Female", "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle", "The Last Seduction", "Body Heat", "After Dark My Sweet" etc) of psycho-sexual thrillers which exhibited a new breed of femme fatale. Hilariously, while these films unconsciously exhibited a fear of female independence, women and a threat to traditional female gender roles, male action heroes around this time (1980s, early 90s) were responding by getting ridiculously muscular, physical, phallic and barbaric, desperately hoping to cling to fading notions of traditional masculinity. Today, everyone's metrosexual. You can't even conceive of a "Fatal Attraction" being released and making money today. An angry, murderous wife? Oh my goodness, why didn't the husband recognise the warning signs, take the kids and leave? 7.5/10 – Like most directors who did their best work in the 70s, Pakula's latter output struggles to juggle art, commerce, personal taste and popcorn expectations. Worth one viewing.