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Presumed Innocent

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Presumed Innocent

R

1990

2h 7m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

86%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Prosecuting attorney Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy) assigns his chief deputy, the taciturn Rusty Sabitch (Harrison Ford), to investigate the rape and murder of colleague Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi), unaware of their torrid affair. When evidence implicates Rusty, Horgan's political enemies demand his arrest, devastating Rusty's wife, Barbara (Bonnie Bedelia). In desperation, Rusty turns to crafty defense attorney Sandy Stein (Raul Julia), only to be stunned by his trial's revelations.

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Critics Consensus

Thanks to an outstanding script, focused direction by Alan Pakula, and a riveting performance from Harrison Ford, Presumed Innocent is the kind of effective courtroom thriller most others aspire to be.

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Joel Siegel

Chicago Reader

Presumed Innocent plays the audience for chumps in order to spring its closing-reel Big Whammy.

Rated: 1/4

May 12, 2022

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John Pym

Sight & Sound

Where Presumed Innocent really takes off, though, and begins to catch an authentic flavour of the book is in the courtroom performances.

Jan 11, 2020

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Dolores Barclay

Associated Press

The movie is plump with twists, turns and blind alleys. Who can be trusted? Who is innocent? Who is guilty?

Jun 12, 2018

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Pakula is an excellent actors director, and has this well in hand. [Full review in Spanish]

Nov 24, 2022

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a refreshingly adult drama that certainly captures the spirit of Turow's padded-out book.

Rated: 2.5/4

Aug 17, 2019

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Hilary Mantel

The Spectator

It is intelligent and absorbing, but it is an entertainment.

Apr 9, 2019

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Yash B

After watching the new version of "Presumed Innocent" I decided to check out the original movie adaptation. I don't know if that made me biased, but I preferred the series over this movie. I think the story is still interesting but this version is very focused on the legal side of the story and feels very talky at times. I still think Harrison Ford is great in this and I liked how the two versions have slightly different conclusions which makes them both feel unique. Overall, this is an okay movie, but I feel if you had to choose one to watch for the first time the Apple TV series surpasses this one in every way.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/16/25

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Brad S. R

A first-rate thriller.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/23/25

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Jerod S

Harrison is a really unfaithful lawyer that's caught up in a bad trial when his mistress is brutally murdered. It's a classic 90s whodunnit that likes to lead you astray.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/25

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Dennis B

I spent the entire series fluctuating between whom I thought was guilty. That was the beauty of this series - no spoilers coming. Thoroughly riveting!!!!!! This was the fastest BINGE WATCH ever.. Big twist ending

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/28/24

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Rich S

Harrison Ford >>> Jake Gyllenhaal Playing the same character in a movie and TV series, respectively, 34 years apart, it's easy to see why Ford was so good and Jake is so not Harrison Ford. Want to watch Scott Turow's work done well on the screen? Jump in the time machine and travel back to 1990 and see it all done in less than one-quarter of the screen time as the series.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/03/24

Full Review

Dave C

There's no arguing that the writing is solid, and that the performances are generally very good. However, it feels very monotonous - especially with HF's narration. There is no tension or suspense, and ultimately when the twist is shown it had already occurred to me. It tries and fails to be a steamy courtroom thriller, instead presenting itself as a heavily clichéd, prescriptive drama

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/10/24

Full Review

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Alan J. Pakula

Director

Harrison Ford

Rozat `'Rusty'` Sabich

Brian Dennehy

Raymond Horgan

Raul Julia

Alejandro `'Sandy'` Stern

Bonnie Bedelia

Barbara Sabich

Paul Winfield

Judge Larren Lyttle

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Synopsis

Prosecuting attorney Raymond Horgan (Brian Dennehy) assigns his chief deputy, the taciturn Rusty Sabitch (Harrison Ford), to investigate the rape and murder of colleague Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi), unaware of their torrid affair. When evidence implicates Rusty, Horgan's political enemies demand his arrest, devastating Rusty's wife, Barbara (Bonnie Bedelia). In desperation, Rusty turns to crafty defense attorney Sandy Stein (Raul Julia), only to be stunned by his trial's revelations.

Director: Alan J. Pakula
Producer: Sydney Pollack, Mark Rosenberg
Screenwriter: Frank Pierson, Alan J. Pakula
Production Co: Warner Bros., Mirage Enterprises
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $85.7M
Runtime: 2h 7m
Sound Mix: Surround
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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