High Crimes
3 out of 5 stars
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High Crimes Support Shadows: Buy a Poster
Judd and Freeman reteam after Kiss the Girls for another above-average dramatic thriller, this time with a military-court theme. And with Franklin at the helm, it's much more intelligent and character-based than the essentially shallow script. After establishing Claire and Tom Kubik (Judd and Caviezel) as a perfect Marin County couple, a series of random events lead to Tom's brutal and sudden arrest. And Claire, who's conveniently a crime lawyer, discovers that Tom has a secret past. He's now charged with mass murder during a top-secret military operation in 1988 El Salvador. So Claire joins the rookie defender (Scott) assigned to the case, drafts in a renegade military court expert (Freeman) and sets out to save her man!

Yes, the plot is predictable and rather insulting, trading on frequent twists and turns, as well as about 10 endings (the last hour of the film is one climactic scene after another). And yes, it does eventually get to virtually the same spot as most thrillers. But along the way, Franklin (One False Move) works to keep things grounded in real life, mostly through throwaway details, direction that focuses on people not plot, and extremely authentic performances. There's not a weak link in the cast; Judd and Freeman get a chance to again play on their chemistry with natural characters we can easily identify with. And the surrounding supporting cast is full of people who simply are not who they seem to be, even though the script tries over and over again to mislead us with an endless string of red herrings. In less gifted hands, this would have been yet another brainless, derivative woman-in-peril thing, but Franklin and his cast make sure the film is actually watchable and compelling.

cert 12 themes, violence, language 14.Oct.02

dir Carl Franklin
scr Yuri Zeltser, Cary Bickley
with Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Jim Caviezel, Amanda Peet, Adam Scott, Bruce Davison, Juan Carlos Hernandez, Tom Bower, Michael Gaston, Emilio Rivera, Michael Shannon, Jude Ciccolella
release US 5.Apr.02; UK 25.Oct.02
Fox
02/US 1h55

But I'm telling the truth! Tom protests his innocence, while Claire seems a bit distracted (Caviezel and Judd).

judd freeman caviezel peet
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send your review to Shadows... everything you know may be a lie "You see this perfect yuppie couple - she is a lawyer, he a tradesman (it was never quite clear what he did, but he had a woodshop). They have a beautiful house, she is going to make partner in her firm, and they are trying to have a baby. One night their house gets broken into, and after running the prints, her husband's match up to someone else - a man the Feds have been hunting for over 12 years for murdering nine innocent civilians. This movie has several plot twists - all the witnesses end up dead, a crucial piece of evidence is not allowed by the judge - it keeps twisting, and more layers get unpeeled - this definitely is not a case of a mistaken identity! It keeps you on your toes. Morgan is awesome as the ex-Jag alcoholic wildcard lawyer; Ashley looks stunningly beautiful as the successful lawyer who will do anything to free her man. But one thing annoyed me: At least twice Ashley gets abused/beat up, she has a black eye and then in the next scene, voila, it's gone. Gee, a few bruises don't make her look ugly - I just figured she had 'magic' bruises, the ones that only show up to give you sympathy. But I still recommend the movie." --Laurie T, Minneapolis 13.Apr.02
© 2002 by Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall

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