Reversal of Fortune

Play trailer

Reversal of Fortune

R

1990

2h 0m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

53 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

When socialite Sunny von Bülow (Glenn Close) inexplicably slips into an irreversible coma, police suspect foul play -- and the obvious suspect is her urbane husband, Claus (Jeremy Irons). After being found guilty of murder, Claus is granted a retrial and hires showboat Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to represent him. Though unconvinced of Claus's innocence, Dershowitz enjoys a challenge and -- along with a group of his students -- fights to have the verdict overturned.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

Featuring exceptional performances and a cunning script, Reversal of Fortune doubles as a tantalizing mystery and ruthless satire of the rich.

Read Critics Reviews

Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

06/17/2020

TV might make cautionary stick figures of Claus and Sunny. Reversal of Fortune treats them as if they were Noel Coward lovers gone to hell in a Lamborghini.

Go to Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Tribune

06/17/2020

3.5/4

Irons' Von Bulow is easily the most attractive and entertaining movie heavy since James Mason`s villain in North by Northwest, a figure with whom he shares a taste for elegant homes and wry understatement.

Go to Full Review

Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

06/15/2020

Screenwriter Nicholas Kazan, director Barbet Schroeder and, especially, Jeremy Irons--in a glittering performance as the divinely decadent Dane--have chosen to treat this social death spiral as a tragicomedy of manners. It's an inspired tone.

Go to Full Review

Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

07/28/2023

74/100

This gripping legal drama is based on a case we still don’t know the truth of — which might make it seem like a pointless exercise, were it not for the fact that it’s infectiously fascinated by greater questions.

Go to Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

11/30/2022

Reversal of Fortune is very well written, very well acted, and very well directed. [Full review in Spanish]

Go to Full Review

Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

11/09/2020

3/4

As distant and icy as Jeremy Irons' Oscar-winning performance as suspected murderer Claus von Bülow, but like Irons' inscrutable steeliness, it's also endlessly compelling.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Mar 8

Crime thrillers can be fun but when the case is this dull, it is just tedious. Maybe Dershowitz will write a riveting script about the Epstein files one day. Would probably make for a better film. He’ll probably still include a line in the film about him being too clever by half…eurgh the ego. Anyway, I watched this bland affair on DVD.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Mar 1

Success in 2 hours. 1991 winner of Academy Award for Best Actor (Jeremy Irons).

See more

Jelisije J

@jjosifovic Feb 18

If you want answers to the movie don't expect to get it. The real heart of the film is the character of Jeremy Irons and without his performance the film is a snooze fest.

See more

Alec B

@Alec97 Jan 10

Genuinely a great time and very re-watchable. I love the coma voice over narration and Irons, Close, and Silver are all terrific.

See more

Hector I

@Hector1184BC 01/11/2025

Superb film found by chance. Jeremy Iron is fantastic, funny, cynical and mysterious. Accused of murdering his wife, he has to defend himself and gathers a bunch of geeks in a house with such a 90s vibe. It's all there: he thinks he's lonely and unhappy with her.She's a tyrannical, brittle woman who regrets her life. He comes across as an abused man who just wants to live his middle-class life and work. His daughter-in-law loves him, unlike his son-in-law. It's quite touching the way it's portrayed on screen, the looks, ... It reminds me a little of Polanski's J'accuse, where the person accused isn't exactly sympathetic. A great film, full of subtleties.

See more

Paulami A

@RT49213247 11/11/2023

Thanks to Alan Dershowitz, Glen Close, Jeremy Irons, Ron Silver, Barbet Schroeder and an extraordinary team of cast and crew! Couldn't take my eyes off. My heartfelt regards to Alan Dershowitz for all the pro bono work you have been doing all your life!

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

POST RATING

Barbet Schroeder

Director

Glenn Close

Sunny von Bülow

Jeremy Irons

Claus von Bülow

Ron Silver

Professor Alan Dershowitz

Annabella Sciorra

Sarah

Uta Hagen

Maria

Monsignor

0%

17%

Monsignor

Watchlist

Pump Up the Volume

80%

85%

Pump Up the Volume

Watchlist

A Dry White Season

82%

75%

A Dry White Season

Watchlist

Wall Street

78%

81%

Wall Street

Watchlist

The Indian Runner

76%

80%

The Indian Runner

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

When socialite Sunny von Bülow (Glenn Close) inexplicably slips into an irreversible coma, police suspect foul play -- and the obvious suspect is her urbane husband, Claus (Jeremy Irons). After being found guilty of murder, Claus is granted a retrial and hires showboat Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz (Ron Silver) to represent him. Though unconvinced of Claus's innocence, Dershowitz enjoys a challenge and -- along with a group of his students -- fights to have the verdict overturned.

Director: Barbet Schroeder
Producer: Edward R. Pressman, Oliver Stone
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Shochiku-Fuji Company [jp], Reversal Films Inc., Sovereign Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 17, 1990, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 14, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $10.5M
Runtime: 2h 0m
Sound Mix: Surround