Presumed Innocent

Starring: Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Winfield, Greta Scacchi, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Jesse Bradford, Joseph Mazzello, Jeffrey Wright
Directed by: Alan J. Pakula
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
1990

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A lawyer (Harrison Ford) investigates the murder of a colleague, who he had previously had an affair with.

Review:

Tim: I really enjoyed Presumed Innocent. It's an entertaining legal thriller with quite a few unexpected twists and turns. It felt like a mature, interesting story that held my attention over its 2 hour, 7 minute run time. It features a strong cast, a surprising story, and was overall quite enjoyable.

Director Alan J. Pakula is a really strong director. This is the fifth film of his I've seen, and I thoroughly enjoyed every single one of them. The guy just directs solid films. He has a story story here and tells it in an engaging, intense way. I love the ability of directors to make legal thrillers fascinating. It's basically a bunch of lawyer talk and courtroom scenes, but man, the best ones are intense.

The cast was very strong. I enjoyed Harrison Ford in the lead role. He might not be the greatest of actors, but the guy is relatable. You like him, even when you're not sure if you should. Here, although he is implicated in the crime, we find it hard to believe that. He's someone that you want to root for, which is exactly what this film needed in this role. Ford makes this movie better. I really enjoyed Brian Dennehy in a supporting role. In the 1990s, he was one of the most reliable supporting actors and he adds yet another strong performance here. Raul Julia was fantastic. I always forget what an incredible actor he was. He takes this small supporting role and he turns it into one of the most fascinating, memorable aspects of the film. He elevates his role and by extension, the entire film. Julia is so essential to this film's success and is a perfect reason why the whole cast matters. Julia doesn't get a ton of screen time, but he utilizes every second. I left this film desperately wishing he had more screen time, but so thankful for every minute we got with him. Bonnie Bedelia was decent in a smaller supporting role. It was fun to see a bunch of good actors in very early career roles, including Jesse Bradford, Joseph Mazzello, Bradley Whitford, and Jeffrey Wright. As a whole, the cast here was certainly above average.

I enjoyed the story here. Ford's character is tasked with looking into the murder of colleague. Unbeknownst to all, he was having an affair with her. He looks just guilty enough that we're not entirely sure what to think. He acts in some suspicious ways- is it because he's dealing with the emotional fallout of the stressful situation he's in- or is he acting out of guilt? Pakula does a good job of keeping us on our toes- we're never quite sure what to think about Ford. The behind-the-scenes look at this situation is fascinating. I loved the legal jargon, the look at what might happen in the legal system in such a situation. Those scenes were so interesting, they just hold your attention.

Now, while I thoroughly enjoyed the story, there were a few moments that felt a little hard to believe. There's quite a few twists and turns throughout the film. There's a big one at the end that was certainly cool and unexpected, but it felt a little hard to believe. It was a good twist, but it felt a little out there. Still, it was strong enough to end the film on a high note.

Presumed Innocent is an entertaining legal thriller. It's helped by the very strong direction of Alan J. Pakula and the talented cast. This is a film that holds up even 27 years later.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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