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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

Hilary Mantel

The Spectator

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

Apr 9, 2019

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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

Bill B

Note, spoilers below. This show is extremely difficult to recommend in spite of some good to very good performances. It’s hard to take a cliche ridden 80’s novel and make it relevant in 2024. First, the legal proceedings are absurd, no judge would have allowed this trial to go to jury. Second, the victim in this story is completely forgotten after the killer is revealed and everyone just goes on with their lives. In the end, the show fails to live up to its potential, the mystery is so disappointing I wish we never found out who the killer was.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/31/24

Full Review

Jared M

The plot was very intelligent and very well written.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/25/24

Full Review

Руслан Г

Чудовий фільм. я прихильник актора Форда, тому я подивився з великим задоволенням. Всім рекомендую.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/18/24

Full Review

Colleen S

Refreshingly riveting! Normally I can wait for a couple of episodes to air before watching…. But can’t help myself. I m right there every Wednesday night! If it wasn’t for this series I’d have canceled my Apple subscription long ago!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/11/24

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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