Presumed Innocent
Blake VP

Review by Blake VP Pro

Presumed Innocent

1990
★★★ Liked

Watched 06 Apr 2021

Presumed Innocent flips the pressure of a typical courtroom drama that's usually reserved for the misunderstood and falsely accused defedant back onto the hotshot prosecutor. Harrison Ford plays that prosecutor as a hardened and calculated lawyer that stays calm under immense constraint of being framed for murder. Alan J Pakula's focus on the complexities of the character keep the plot subversive in nature and make it difficult to predict what's to come next. It's not close to Pakula's best work, but it's a gripping film that places the audience at the center of that anxiety with the surprising premise.

However, Ford's performance is emblematic of his main faults in his delivery - not the monotonous tone but the lifelessness and in a film where you're fighting for your freedom, coming across apathetic felt unnerving. Perhaps it's the idea of his expertise outweighing the emotional reckoning, but I didn't find him overtly persuasive in his conversations to suggest that. He's not completely terrible by any stretch, but he holds back a rather intriguing character piece with this performance. He's much better playing eccentric or relaxed rather than tense.

Otherwise, Pakula was the right choice to direct this misdericted thriller. The highs come in the form of Evan A Lottman's editing that perfectly blends the facts of Ford's case with the flashback structure of the script. The wiritng is obviously good, incisive and critical of the system at large, but minor details hold this back from being a great film.

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