Presumed Innocent (1990)

Very disappointing...

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

"Presumed innocent" is unfairly forgotten movie in both Harrison's Ford and Alan Pakula career's . It shows that Ford as an actor is more than Indiana Jones and Han Solo and it's last great movie of Alan Pakula.The movie is quite long (2 hours). I can agree that the first half is a little too slow and might be boring. It's necessary , because during that time we get to know the characters , explore their personalities and learn about the murder case. It's important to pay attention the whole time. The patience will be rewarded in the second half of movie with simple , yet subtle twists that will be better and better until the wonderful finale. Every puzzle will fit in the end . considering that dialogues are well written and the pacing gets better during the movie it shouldn't be hard. Many time you will be "Why I didn't thought about that?". Solid direction that never tries to unnecessary manipulate your emotions and well written screenplay will keep you interested in the story.Harrison Ford is great as the main hero –lonely , depressed , bitter . He's got a great support in Brian Dennehy ("Rambo : First blood") and Raul Julia ("Addams family"). Gretta Scacchi is sexy as Carolyn Polhemus and don't forget the solid Bonnie Bedelia as Ford's wife.This is more than fine courtroom drama . It will provide you entertainment, but also make you think about the difference between law and justice. I give it 7/10.

At the beginning of "Presumed Innocent", Deputy Prosecutor Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) reflects on the nature of the criminal justice system and concludes that its procedures produce uncertain results, which in turn, make him wonder, "what is our hope of justice?". Rusty is a hard working and dedicated professional who's highly thought of by his colleagues and his superiors but the idealistic outlook that he possessed early on in his career, has long since been replaced by a far more realistic recognition of the limitations of the system and its capacity for determining correctly who is or isn't guilty.Rusty's boss, County Prosecutor Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy) informs him that another member of his staff, a young woman lawyer called Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) has been found dead in her apartment and the circumstances suggest that she's been murdered and raped. Horgan is fighting a re-election campaign and is desperately concerned about the political damage he could suffer, especially if the murder case isn't solved quickly. He insists that Rusty take on the investigation and demands that he gives it top priority.Rusty's unable to refuse but is uncomfortable about the job because he'd had an affair with Carolyn who was a beautiful and aggressively ambitious person who ended their relationship when it became clear that continuing with it would not be likely to bring any further advancements in her career. Despite everything that had happened, Rusty remained totally obsessed with Carolyn.When Nico Della Guardia (Tom Mardirosian) wins the election, Rusty is taken off the investigation and suddenly finds himself charged with the murder as Della Guardia's investigator, Tommy Molto (Joe Grifasi), discovers a number of pieces of evidence that all seem to point to Rusty's guilt. Rusty hires brilliant defense attorney Sandy Stern (Raul Julia) to represent him but when the trial begins the prosecution's case appears to be very strong. As it progresses, however, a number of the people involved find that their integrity is called into question before the case reaches its very sudden and unexpected conclusion."Presumed Innocent" is an incredibly absorbing murder mystery with a brooding atmosphere that's enhanced visually by Gordon Willis' shadowy cinematography. Alan J Pakula's deliberate pacing generates a great deal of tension and the acting style is often very restrained and ambiguous. This makes some of the characters seem interesting but also difficult to read.Harrison Ford gives a masterful performance as someone whose experiences have left him totally jaded and whose profession has taught him how to be very controlled, even under extreme pressure. None of this, however, helps him in any way to cope with the awful combination of emotions that he feels at the end of the movie, by which time, he's overwhelmed with regret over his own failures as well as profound feelings of loss and guilt.Brian Dennehy, Greta Scacchi and Raul Julia all make their characters believable and memorable and Bonnie Bedelia is excellent as Rusty's wife, who despite his infidelity, never doubts his innocence and continues to support him strongly throughout his trial."Presumed Innocent" is a wonderfully thought provoking movie as it shows so clearly an example of the flawed nature of the justice system and the levels of suffering it brings to some of the characters who also have their own secrets and flaws.

It dawns on me there are actually few reviews posted here for this movie. You'd think there would be 300 or more. Adapted from one of the best crime/courtroom novels of the 1980s, "Presumed Innocent" focuses on a prosecutor (Ford) accused of murdering his lover (Scacchi). As he digs deeper into the case, the worse it looks for him. Politics and personal vendettas only make things even more glum. From beginning to end, the movie is a straightforward and excellent rendition of the Turow novel. The movie also boasts an A-list cast that includes Brian Dennehey, Raul Julia and Bonnie Bedelia as the prosecutor's wife. It won't matter if you read the book and know the ending, it is a major shocker as played by Ford, who was at the height of his powers in the late 1980s, when this was made.

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.