Presumed Innocent (1990)

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers (WGA):

Scott Turow (novel)
Frank Pierson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

27 July 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Sometimes it's dangerous to presume.

Plot:

When the woman deputy prosecutor R.K. Sabich had an affair with is murdered the prosecutor asks him to lead the investigation. When Sabich digs too deeply he finds himself framed for the murder.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Prosecutor | Suspect | Attorney | Lawyer

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Harrison Ford	...	Rozat 'Rusty' Sabich
Brian Dennehy	...	Raymond Horgan
Raul Julia	...	Alejandro 'Sandy' Stern
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Barbara Sabich
Paul Winfield	...	Judge Larren Lyttle
Greta Scacchi	...	Carolyn Polhemus
John Spencer	...	Det. 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	...	Sgt. Lionel Kenneally

Runtime:

127 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:15 (original rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 | UK:18 (video rating) (uncut) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:11 | USA:R | Canada:A (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Allendale, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Mirage

Trivia:

The ending was given away in an episode of "The Kids in the Hall" (1988).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Rusty is dining with his wife and son in the restaurant he asks his son, who is holding a glass of milk, a question. His son answers immediately holding his knife and fork. It also happens the other way round when the son speaks to his father.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Rusty Sabich: [voiceover] I'm a prosecutor. I'm part of the business of accusing, judging and punishing. I explore the evidence of a crime and determine who is charged, who is brought to this room to be tried before his peers. I present my evidence to the jury and they deliberate upon it. They must determine what really happened. If they cannot, we will not know whether the accused deserves to be freed or should be punished. If they cannot find the truth, what is our hope of justice?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Ten (2007)

Soundtrack:

Let The Drummer Loose

Excellent criminal law thriller

As a thriller this is top notch; as any kind of a movie it is also top notch. Based on Scott Turow's best-selling novel of the same name (his first), it relies on a well-coordinated directorial effort by Alan J. Pakula (Sophie's Choice 1982, All the President's Men 1976, Klute 1971, etc.), a fine script by Frank Pierson (whose credits include Cool Hand Luke 1967, Dog Day Afternoon 1975, A Star Is Born 1976, etc.), and an experienced, talented and well-directed cast headed by Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raul Julia, Bonnie Bedelia, Greta Scacchi and Paul Winfield.

Ford plays Rusty Sabich, a prosecutor compromised by his sexual obsession with a fellow prosecutor, Caroline Polhemus (Scacchi) who is found murdered as the film opens. We see her in flashback as a conniving mantrap who uses her wiles to further her career. Sabich is assigned to the case by his boss, Raymond Horgan (Dennehy) who is up for reelection. Sabich would like to recuse himself but Horgan demands that he take the case and get the perp "yesterday" otherwise they will all be out a job because he will lose the election. Bedelia, looking particularly beguiling, plays Sabich's sexually frustrated and deeply hurt wife, Barbara.

When the election is lost the new prosecutors arrest Sabich and charge him with murder. He is defended by the very smooth Raul Julia who plays defense attorney Sandy Stern. Paul Winfield, in a somewhat flamboyant style, plays Judge Larren Lyttle.

Because Scott Turow knows the way the law works in practice as well as in theory, he having been a lawyer before he became a best-selling writer, we are treated to wood paneled intrigues and courtroom theatrics that have the unmistakable feel of authenticity. The dialogue is veracious and the character cross-currents vividly real. Ford gives what I think is one of his best performances as a man tormented by his infidelity and caught in a vise of circumstance largely stemming from that infidelity. Dennehy is a big-mouthed and big-headed politician in the familiar Windy City style. Raul Julia's Sandy Stern is cosmopolitan and brilliant, cynical and slick, a kind of Latin Johnny Cochran. Bedelia, whom I recall best as Shirley Muldowney in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) manages a delicate (and slightly unbelievable) persona with just the right amount of forbearance so that when the surprise ending comes we almost believe it.

I say "almost," but you might want to judge for yourself.

See this for Harrison Ford who plays a foolish and morally compromised man with just the sort of right stuff and disarming vulnerability we've come to expect from one of Hollywood's most popular leading men.