Bear with me while I set the context for my review:
One of the stunning "hooks" in the academy award winning film "The Sting" (1973, 10 nominations, 7 awards, including Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay) is the shift of the narrative voice from omniscient perspective to a closed third person perspective ... when Johnny Hooker (Redford) and Lt. Snyder (Durning) are fooled by the "FBI agents" -- we later find out the FBI scene was set up and scripted by Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) as the critical step in making the Sting work. That one elegantly smooth, unnoticeable shift is the crowning touch in an otherwise excellent film.
In "Presumed Innocent" the brilliant change in narrative is the change in voice .. from that of Rusty Sabich (Ford) to that of his wife Barbara (Bedelia) during the final conversation between them in the story. The intricately subtle and carefully staged plot lets us follow Rusty's stream of consciousness as if he was in a trance .. a trance guiding him toward a full understanding of "what really happened" in the murder of his colleague -- and a full understanding of his part in those events.
It's a movie that you have to see twice to appreciate the excellent acting and direction. And if and when you read Scott Turow's book, you'll want to see the film at least once again .. in which case you'll be more than impressed at how well the (extraordinary) novel was translated to the screen.
The spare, unobtrusive score magnifies the most compellingly dense scenes in which Rusty's awareness of "what really happened" evolves. If you want to know what John Williams can do with a light touch when he's not making epics like Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Harry Potter, you might want to play the film once more, just to focus on tasting and savoring the audio portion of this program.
Raul Julia nailed the part of defense attorney Sandy Stern, Harrison Ford is phenomenal as Rusty, and Bonnie Bedelia; Brian Dennehy as District Attorney Raymond Horgan, Rusty's boss; Paul Winfield, the trial judge; and John Spenser as Rusty's friend Detective Lipranzer (West Wing, Leo McGarry) -- all turn in pro performances in support. Some significant credit has to go to the producers for assembling a magical cast.
But be forewarned -- this is dark magic. In almost every scene, shadow and darkness is prominent, and the scant few bright daylight scenes only set up contrast with the dimmer, more murky, more obscure moments. The desolate visualization is not bleak, though; to the contrary, it's richly textured. Making hopelessness and forlorn human obsession palatable in a film is no small thing ... and this story is the journey of the soul in the small hours of a sleepless night. It's a story that could have inspired Hemingway to write "A Clean, Well Lighted Place."
"Imagine a dark smoky bar, deep grained cherry wood paneling, where they dole out martinis made from the best 100 proof vodka and iced human tears to richly burdened men and women, each alone with grief and mourning and self-created pain."
*** Presumed Innocent was nominated for an Edgar (Best Movie, Edgar Allan Poe Award) along with Goodfellas, but lost to The Grifters (Angelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening.) The original music by John Willimas received a BMI Film Music award.
*** Trivia Bradley Witford, also a featured player on West Wing (Josh Lyman) plays Jamie Kemp, Sandy Stern's law assistant.
This is the first film I know of with a character who is a black gang member and "in the life, on the lowdown" as a closeted homosexual.
Exercise: When the defense team visits Caroline Polhemus's apartment, note the number of bar glasses present on the countertop.
One of the stunning "hooks" in the academy award winning film "The Sting" (1973, 10 nominations, 7 awards, including Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Adapted Screenplay) is the shift of the narrative voice from omniscient perspective to a closed third person perspective ... when Johnny Hooker (Redford) and Lt. Snyder (Durning) are fooled by the "FBI agents" -- we later find out the FBI scene was set up and scripted by Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) as the critical step in making the Sting work. That one elegantly smooth, unnoticeable shift is the crowning touch in an otherwise excellent film.
In "Presumed Innocent" the brilliant change in narrative is the change in voice .. from that of Rusty Sabich (Ford) to that of his wife Barbara (Bedelia) during the final conversation between them in the story. The intricately subtle and carefully staged plot lets us follow Rusty's stream of consciousness as if he was in a trance .. a trance guiding him toward a full understanding of "what really happened" in the murder of his colleague -- and a full understanding of his part in those events.
It's a movie that you have to see twice to appreciate the excellent acting and direction. And if and when you read Scott Turow's book, you'll want to see the film at least once again .. in which case you'll be more than impressed at how well the (extraordinary) novel was translated to the screen.
The spare, unobtrusive score magnifies the most compellingly dense scenes in which Rusty's awareness of "what really happened" evolves. If you want to know what John Williams can do with a light touch when he's not making epics like Jaws, Star Wars, Indiana Jones or Harry Potter, you might want to play the film once more, just to focus on tasting and savoring the audio portion of this program.
Raul Julia nailed the part of defense attorney Sandy Stern, Harrison Ford is phenomenal as Rusty, and Bonnie Bedelia; Brian Dennehy as District Attorney Raymond Horgan, Rusty's boss; Paul Winfield, the trial judge; and John Spenser as Rusty's friend Detective Lipranzer (West Wing, Leo McGarry) -- all turn in pro performances in support. Some significant credit has to go to the producers for assembling a magical cast.
But be forewarned -- this is dark magic. In almost every scene, shadow and darkness is prominent, and the scant few bright daylight scenes only set up contrast with the dimmer, more murky, more obscure moments. The desolate visualization is not bleak, though; to the contrary, it's richly textured. Making hopelessness and forlorn human obsession palatable in a film is no small thing ... and this story is the journey of the soul in the small hours of a sleepless night. It's a story that could have inspired Hemingway to write "A Clean, Well Lighted Place."
"Imagine a dark smoky bar, deep grained cherry wood paneling, where they dole out martinis made from the best 100 proof vodka and iced human tears to richly burdened men and women, each alone with grief and mourning and self-created pain."
*** Presumed Innocent was nominated for an Edgar (Best Movie, Edgar Allan Poe Award) along with Goodfellas, but lost to The Grifters (Angelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening.) The original music by John Willimas received a BMI Film Music award.
*** Trivia Bradley Witford, also a featured player on West Wing (Josh Lyman) plays Jamie Kemp, Sandy Stern's law assistant.
This is the first film I know of with a character who is a black gang member and "in the life, on the lowdown" as a closeted homosexual.
Exercise: When the defense team visits Caroline Polhemus's apartment, note the number of bar glasses present on the countertop.