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Starring Harrison Ford, Raul Julia. Slick, crafty suspense films don't come along that often, and, for the most part, usually screw something up miserably when they do come. The only thing you could possibly accuse director Alan J. Pakula of messing up in Presumed Innocent is Harrison Ford's haircut.Sporting what could best be described as a losing battle with the lawn mower, Ford plays a San Francisco assistant district attorney who is accused of murdering a colleague and, contrary to the title, presumed guilty from the get go. As the movie begins, we as viewers don't exactly have a Braveheart type of sympathy for Ford, in as much as he cheated on his wife with the deceased more times than the Cubs have had losing streaks. However, as evidence begins to trickle in that Ford may not have committed the murder, our compassion for him slowly returns, and the rest of the movie is spent with us on the edge of our couches and loveseats. I'll never spoil the ending for you, the whole part where Ford is hit by that truck in the--oops, but I must proudly say I called it coming, and I didn't read the book. Besides having a good script off of which to work, this film is greatly benefited by a strong supporting cast of actors. Raul Julia shines in his role as Ford's defense attorney, bringing his own elegant style and panache to every scene in which he appears. Greta Scacchi plays the deceased--I learned that legal term from the movie and must admit that I do enjoy using it--who, judging from the information we are presented with during the trial, evidently slept with every man in the city courthouse and then some. Presumed Innocent is an entertaining movie, based off Scott Turow's book of the same name, with all the left turns and surprises that you'd expect to see in a good suspense film. If you're a fan of John Grisham's books and movies but want a little sharper, hard-core edge, Presumed Innocent is the movie for you.
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