Claire
Kubik (Ashley Judd)
Charlie Grimes (Morgan Freeman)
Tom (James Caviezel)
Lt. Embry (Adam Scott)
Jackie (Amanda Peet)
Beig. Gen. Marks (Bruce Davison)
Directed by Carl Franklin
Written by Yuri Zeltser and Cary Bickley, based on the
novel by Joseph Finder |
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Running Time: 155 minutes Distributed by 20th Century Fox
High
Crimes is a dull thriller that seems to be confused as to
what it wants to be. Is it a court-room, military thriller?
A who-dun-it thriller? A human nature thriller? Or is it all
three?
The reason
I raise this question is that there are so many points which
are set up in the film, but not nearly all of them are follow
through with. I also found the film full of clichés
and predictability, which was downsizing to its great acting
cast.
The plot
is circled around attorney Claire Kubik (Judd) finding out
who her husband (Caviezel) really is. Claire is first introduced
as a happy wife that is also a very hardworking attorney.
Out of the complete blue, her husband is arrested by the FBI.
He is accused of murdering eight innocent people in El Salvador,
while on a secret mission in the Marine Corps. Claire shockingly
learns of the allegations and of her husband's previous life
as marine, which was unknown to her. However, Claire is the
film's hero and she takes up the case as her husband's attorney
to prove his innocence. She teams up with a military lawyer
named Charlie Grimes (Freeman), who is a recovering alcoholic
and considers himself the "wildcard" of military
courtrooms.
As the
secrets begin to be revealed by Charlie and Claire, their
lives are put into more and more danger. Many characters arise
through the story to unveil the truth. However, the truth
becomes not what any of the characters expected it to be.
Director
Carl Franklin broke into Hollywood in the early 90's with
his gritty thriller One False Move (1991). Since then he has
done soft drama like One True Thing (1998) and more thrillers
like Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) and High Crimes. I was honestly
not very impressed with Franklin's visual techniques in High
Crimes. He tries to make this tired scripted thriller unique
by having many point-of-view shots along with cross panes
and quick zoom-in camera techniques. In my opinion, some of
his tricks just look overdone. I do admire Carl Franklin,
but I didn't care much for his work in High Crimes, his vision
just seemed to be missing something.
Yuri
Zeltser and Cary Bickley wrote the script for the film which
was based on the novel by Joseph Finder. The script lacks
closure to so many holes and really doesn't have any type
of flow to it. Like I said earlier, the film touches on being
many different types of the thriller genre, but it hardly
sticks with one until the end. The relationship between Charlie
and Claire is the strength of the script, but there is a thirty
minute gap where Claire's husband, the key character of the
plot, is left off the screen. There are also too many annoying
moments of Claire being followed by a mysterious being and
it becomes almost expected about every ten minutes of the
film.
Morgan
Freeman and Ashley Judd reteam in this thriller and deliver
the goods. The two both worked together in the 1997 thriller
Kiss the Girls, which is a film that I recommend over High
Crimes. The duo has good chemistry and I think audiences should
be treated to seeing them work together again in the future.
In my opinion, Morgan Freeman is one the best actors around,
and he captures the character of the former alcoholic lawyer
Charlie Grimes with a recognizable diversity. Freeman has
the best lines in the film and also provides some unexpected
chuckles. Judd is just a terrific leading lady, though there
are so many moments in High Crimes where she mirrors the strength
of her character in Double Jeopardy. The wonderful Jim Caviezel
takes a different turn as Claire's questionable husband. Caviezel
is a pure presence and he continues to show his flexibility
as an actor with his role in this film. High Crimes has a
really good cast that is too talented to be in this murky
film.
High
Crimes is a thriller that wants to be too much and it becomes
overdone with repetitive sequences and nearly predictable
outcomes. The film has a great cast and partly good characters,
but it is an overall flawed and flat film.
Report
Card Grade: C-
Beastman's
Movie Reviews
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