Alan J. Pakula's Presumed Innocent was an early 90's thriller that had an incredible cast, a compelling screenplay courtesy of Pakula and Frank Pierson, that was adapted from Scott Turow's bestselling novel, and more twists than M Night Shyamalan playing with a Rubik Cube. The film's plot features a prosecutor (Harrison Ford) charged with the murder of a colleague, a beautiful assistant prosecuting attorney played by Greta Scacchi. Married Rusty Sabich (Ford) had been having an affair with Scacchi's Carolyn Polhemus, but she'd broken it off when she sensed that Rusty wouldn't grease the wheels of career advancement for her. Tormented by her indifference towards him, Rusty has reconciled with his wife, but still harbours an obsession with her, an obsession that will be used as a motive for her death after she's discovered raped and tied up in what appears to be a sexual bondage game gone wrong. With Rusty's boss running for re-election, the political pressure to find Carolyn's killer becomes a hot potato, and when evidence gathered starts to point towards Rusty, his world falls apart when he's charged with her murder.

Pakula makes good use of flashbacks to tell the backstory here, but it's the tortured performance from Harrison Ford, alongside a never better Raul Julia, that makes this film such a compelling watch. A film I've seen numerous times, this was a first watch for my wife, who couldn't believe the twist ending conjured up by writer Turow. With supporting slots for John Spencer, Brian Dennehy, and an intriguing turn from Bonnie Bedelia as Rusty's wife Barbara, this doesn't miss a beat during a tension-filled 127 minute runtime. Every time I watch this I lament the loss of Raul Julia, a consummate professional who could do just about anything, another of those guys who just got better and better, until he was cut him down in his prime. Ford's subdued performance was a real change of pace for him too, after Indiana Jones the previous year, and I still reckon this is one of his finest turns in front of the camera.

Pakula made some great movies during his career, with this up alongside All the President's Men as his best in my humble opinion. Bonnie Bedelia casts off her Holly McClane shackles too, and she too is rather good here. I was however, surprised to see that she has some famous nephews, something I didn't know, with Macauley, Kieran, and Rory Culkin the sons of Bedelia's brother Kit?