CinemaSerf
Sep 19, 2022
5/10
It probably didn't really help that for the first half of this film, I thought that Don Johnson was Kevin Costner! Once I'd sorted that out though, it didn't really make much difference - it's still a rather dull crime thriller that is really light on thrills. Rebecca De Mornay is "Haines", an ambitious lawyer who is drafted in to defend "Greenhill" - a rather unpleasant fellow accused of killing his wife. What now follows is a particularly sterile court room drama as first he plays her before she cottons on and decides that the worm needs to turn a bit. The whole thing is entirely predictable with none of the jeopardy of, say, "Jagged Edge" (1985) nor does Sidney Lumet really make much effort with the characterisations - they are shallow, malevolent and not in any way did they manage to hook me or keep me engaged for what seemed like an eternity of extremely obvious faux plot twists. The ending is fitting, but I could have been doing with it about half an hour earlier! Another film for the telly, after a few drinks.