Presumed Innocent **** (1990, Harrsion Ford, Greta Scacchi, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Brian Dennehy, Paul Winfield, John Spencer, Joe Grifasi, David Wohl, Jesse Bradford, Joseph Mazzello) – Classic Movie Review 5764

Co-writer/ director Alan J Pakula’s 1990 neo noir adult thriller with four-letter words stars Harrsion Ford as Rusty Sabich, a prosecuting attorney whose life is thrown into turmoil after he has an affair with a colleague (Greta Scacchi), Carolyn Polhemus, a rising star in the Kindle County DA’s Office, who is raped and murdered.

Suspicion therefore falls on Rusty, prompting him to hire defence attorney Sandy Stern (Raul Julia) and embark on a fierce battle to prove his innocence.

Ford overcomes a haircut from hell to give a sterling performance in Pakula’s slickly handled, tense and riveting courtroom drama that commendably keeps most audiences guessing right up to the last moment. Rusty’s troubled relationship with his wife (Bonnie Bedelia) is well handled, and so are his domestic claustrophobia and the courtroom atmosphere.

Smart and admirable though the movie is, maybe it is a shade leisurely and overlong at 127 minutes, and the subtlety of the source novel by Scott Turow is missing.

Also in the cast are Brian Dennehy as Raymond Horgan, Paul Winfield as Judge Larren Lyttle, John Spencer as Detective Lipranzer, Joe Grifasi as Tommy Molto, David Wohl, Bradley Whitford, Christine Estabrook, Tom Mardirosian, Anna Maria Horsford, Sab Shimono, Michael Tolan, Madison Arnold, Ron Frazier, Jesse Bradford, Joseph Mazzello (in his feature debut), Tucker Smallwood, Leland Gantt and Teodorina Bello.

It is co-written by Frank Pierson, shot by Gordon Willis, produced by Sydney Pollack and Mark Rosenberg, scored by John Williams and designed by George Jenkins.

There is a TV movie follow-up: The Burden of Proof (1992), with Hector Elizondo taking over the role of defence attorney Sandy Stern.

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5764

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com