Suspect

R

Released Oct 23, 1987

2 hr. 1 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

67%

18 Reviews

Tomatometer

58%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Carl Anderson (Liam Neeson), a deaf, mute and homeless war veteran, is arrested for the murder of a prominent judge's secretary. But Kathleen Riley (Cher), Anderson's lawyer, believes her client is innocent. She sets out to track down the real killer, and, as the trial proceeds, makes an unlikely ally in Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid), a jury member. When they aren't in court, the two investigate the case and manage to uncover a massive conspiracy.

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Michael S

Mediocre 80s legal thriller that suffers from the rule of "narrative economy," which effectively spoils the ending. The romance between Cher and Quaid is a total non-starter. Nice DC location shooting, though.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/01/24

Full Review

Steve D

Fatally flawed because of some weird decisions in the script.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/02/23

Full Review

Paul D

One of my favorite 80s movies. Cher is great, and so are John Mahoney and Liam Neeson. A very solid courtroom drama!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/19/22

Full Review

Audience Member

When a Supreme Court Justice commits suicide and the body of a file clerk at the Justice Department is found floating in the Potomac River, nobody considers it a conspiracy. Instead, homeless and deaf vet Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson) is arrested because he had been sleeping in the clerk's car. He doesn't have a chance against the system unless public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) can discover who was really behind the murder. She also has some help from Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid), a juror on the case, because that's the way that trials work in the real world. Judge Matthew Bishop Helms (John Mahoney) thinks that there's something happening between Kathleen and Eddie, but he may have some bigger problems because he could end up being in the very trial he's presiding over. It's pretty incredible how much research Cher, Neeson and Quaid did for their roles, spending months around people who would inspire them as well as educate them as to how the real world version of their character would act. Directed by Peter Yates (Bullitt, The Deep, Krull) and written by Eric Roth (The Concorde ... Airport '79, Wolfen, Ali, Dune), Suspect is a very 80s mystery which fits in quite well with the Mill Creek box set I discovered it inside.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The funniest acting ever, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

antonis k

Excellent perfomances, outstanding direction and lot's of suspense make 'Suspect' a very underrated 80's film. (A+)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Peter Yates

Director

Cher

Kathleen Riley

Dennis Quaid

Eddie Sanger

Liam Neeson

Carl Wayne Anderson

John Mahoney

Judge Matthew Bishop Helms

Joe Mantegna

Charlie Stella

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Suspect is a well-made thriller, but it was spoiled for me by an extraordinary closing scene where Cher, as the defense attorney, solves the case with all of the logic of a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Ángel Fernández-Santos

El Pais (Spain)

[Director Peter] Yates limits himself to illustrating, and not always in a good way, Eric Roth's original script. [Full Review in Spanish]

Apr 8, 2020

Full Review

Richard Freedman

Newhouse News Service

Suspect is a thoroughly enjoyable example of an overworked genre.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 5, 2019

Full Review

Lori Hoffman

Atlantic City Weekly

Rated: 3/5

Apr 18, 2006

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jul 23, 2005

Full Review

Moriarty

Ain't It Cool Movie Reviews

Rated: 2/5

Jun 25, 2005

Full Review

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Synopsis

Carl Anderson (Liam Neeson), a deaf, mute and homeless war veteran, is arrested for the murder of a prominent judge's secretary. But Kathleen Riley (Cher), Anderson's lawyer, believes her client is innocent. She sets out to track down the real killer, and, as the trial proceeds, makes an unlikely ally in Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid), a jury member. When they aren't in court, the two investigate the case and manage to uncover a massive conspiracy.

Director: Peter Yates
Production Co: TriStar Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 23, 1987, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 7, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $18.0M
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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