'Guilty by Suspicion' is a much needed film about McCarthyism -probably the darkest era of modern US history, one marked by conscious attempts to terrorize and silence political dissenters. David Merrill (Robert De Niro) is a relatively successful director who returns to Hollywood from filming in France to find that his political loyalty has been called into question by the infamous House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Unlike many of his artist friends, he decides to stick to his principles and fight the sinister Committee to the end.
It is a testament to the film's historical boldness that even professional critics have often found it impossible to evaluate it without digging into their personal political bias. Many see Merrill as the prototype libertarian antihero fighting against repression, while most see him as worthy of the fate of a 'communist traitor'. The film makes it quite clear that Merrill -who is of course a fictitious character- is representative of the vast majority of individuals persecuted by HUAC, in that he was as communistic as your average 'Save the Whales' member. His unconventional decision to challenge the Committee comes not from an ideological need to defend his mildly dissenting politics, but from his antagonistic frustration against HUAC's Stalinist witch hunt tactics that ruined the lives of many during the early stages of the Cold War. Ultimately, the debate about Merrill's character is largely irrelevant because it is actually HUAC's and the FBI's shameful and repulsive character, rather than Merrill's eccentric heroics, that is the film's central theme. Students of US history will not fail to hear throughout the film echoes of Special Army Attorney Joseph N. Welch's frustrated remarks "at long last, Sir, have you no decency?", aimed against a bullying Senator Joe McCarthy shortly before the latter's conclusive political demise.
Impressive performances by Robert De Niro and Patricia Wettig (as Dorothy Nolan) carry the film, whose deficient script unfortunately fails to make the most of an interesting and important theme. Equally disappointing is the film's failure to recreate a convincing visual context of late 1940s Hollywood. It is worth noting, however, that the film's final 12 minutes contain an unparalleled cinematic depiction of HUAC's early hearings, which is worth experiencing. Overall a fine effort, 5.5 stars out of ten.
It is a testament to the film's historical boldness that even professional critics have often found it impossible to evaluate it without digging into their personal political bias. Many see Merrill as the prototype libertarian antihero fighting against repression, while most see him as worthy of the fate of a 'communist traitor'. The film makes it quite clear that Merrill -who is of course a fictitious character- is representative of the vast majority of individuals persecuted by HUAC, in that he was as communistic as your average 'Save the Whales' member. His unconventional decision to challenge the Committee comes not from an ideological need to defend his mildly dissenting politics, but from his antagonistic frustration against HUAC's Stalinist witch hunt tactics that ruined the lives of many during the early stages of the Cold War. Ultimately, the debate about Merrill's character is largely irrelevant because it is actually HUAC's and the FBI's shameful and repulsive character, rather than Merrill's eccentric heroics, that is the film's central theme. Students of US history will not fail to hear throughout the film echoes of Special Army Attorney Joseph N. Welch's frustrated remarks "at long last, Sir, have you no decency?", aimed against a bullying Senator Joe McCarthy shortly before the latter's conclusive political demise.
Impressive performances by Robert De Niro and Patricia Wettig (as Dorothy Nolan) carry the film, whose deficient script unfortunately fails to make the most of an interesting and important theme. Equally disappointing is the film's failure to recreate a convincing visual context of late 1940s Hollywood. It is worth noting, however, that the film's final 12 minutes contain an unparalleled cinematic depiction of HUAC's early hearings, which is worth experiencing. Overall a fine effort, 5.5 stars out of ten.