PRESUMED INNOCENT (1990, USA, 127m, 18) ****
Crime, Drama, Mystery
dist. Warner Bros.; pr co. Warner Bros. / Mirage Enterprises; d. Alan J. Pakula; w. Frank Pierson, Alan J. Pakula (based on the novel by Scott Turow); pr. Sydney Pollack, Mark Rosenberg; ph. Gordon Willis (Technicolor | 1.85:1); m. John Williams; ed. Evan A. Lottman; pd. George Jenkins; ad. Robert Guerra.
cast: Harrison Ford (Rusty Sabich), Brian Dennehy (Raymond Horgan), Raul Julia (Sandy Stern), Bonnie Bedelia (Barbara Sabich), Paul Winfield (Judge Larren Lyttle), Greta Scacchi (Carolyn Polhemus), John Spencer (Detective Dan Lipranzer), Joe Grifasi (Tommy Molto), Tom Mardirosian (Nico Della Guardia), Anna Maria Horsford (Eugenia), Sab Shimono (‘Painless’ Kumagai), Bradley Whitford (Jamie Kemp), Christine Estabrook (Lydia ‘Mac’ MacDougall), Michael Tolan (Mr. Polhemus), Madison Arnold (Sergeant Lionel Kenneally), Ron Frazier (Stew Dubinsky), Jesse Bradford (Nat Sabich), Joseph Mazzello (Wendell McGaffney), Tucker Smallwood (Detective Harold Greer), Leland Gantt (Leon Wells).
Alan J. Pakula’s deliberately paced mix of murder mystery and courtroom drama sees prosecuting attorney Raymond Horgan (Dennehy) assign his chief deputy, the taciturn Rusty Sabitch (Ford), to investigate the rape and murder of colleague Carolyn Polhemus (Scacchi), unaware of their torrid affair. When evidence implicates Rusty, Horgan’s political enemies demand his arrest, devastating Rusty’s wife, Barbara (Bonnie Bedelia). In desperation, Rusty turns to crafty defence attorney Sandy Stern (Julia), only to be stunned by his trial’s revelations. The film builds momentum and tension as it progresses providing the pay-off for its slow and deliberate first act. The performances of Ford, Julia and Dennehy are all top-notch, whilst Scacchi skilfully mixes professional intensity and ambition with sexual allure. Pierson and Pakula’s sharp script offers twists and turns, increasingly luring the audience into the story, notably in the riveting scenes in the courtroom. Two TV movie sequels followed – THE BURDEN OF PROOF (1992) and INNOCENT (2011).
