This is a thriller that keeps you on the edge, gripping from start to finish, especially in the courtroom scenes. It's a story about defense lawyer Teddy Barnes (Glenn Close), who represents Jack Forrester (Jeff Bridges) - charged for the murder of his heiress wife, Page (Maria Mayenzet).While the plot objectives may appear overused by today's standards, the story to me is still fresh and intriguing, and the above average acting, especially that of Glenn Close, helps keep the move interesting. Robert Loggia as Sam Ransom was OK, but his foul mouth was a turn off. Jeff Bridges gave a rather monotonous performance.The courtroom scenes were definitely the highlight of the movie, with the back and forth between Teddy Barnes and the antagonistic prosecutor Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote). The subplot of Teddie's ex-husband and her kids blended in well with the movie too.Overall, it's a good, thriller with some unpredictable moments.Grade A-

JAGGED EDGE is a pretty decent '80s thriller that mixes two genres to good effect. The film kicks off with a nastily memorable opening sequence in which a woman is knifed and murdered on her bed by a masked psychopath. From this point in, we're in BASIC INSTINCT territory, as a defence lawyer grows close to the murder suspect while detectives strive to make sense of the crime.The second half of the production moves into courtroom drama territory and at this point it really picks up with some quietly gripping scenes. It's not as gripping as the classics of old (for instance, BOOMERANG!, a film noir starring Dana Andrews that I recently watched) but it certainly does the job in keeping you watching.The film is well cast, with Glenn Close as the protagonist and not the bunny boiler (FATAL ATTRACTION did typecast her in the eyes of the public). Jeff Bridges plays it mysteriously, but it's the supporting cast where this really shines: Robert Loggia steals every scene as the foul-mouthed ally, Peter Coyote is a hard-headed rival, and there are minor roles for '80s favourites James Karen and Lance Henriksen. JAGGED EDGE manages to keep the tension going right until the final, fumbled reveal.

A prosecuting attorney-turned-defense lawyer falls in love with a rich, charming client who's been accused of murdering his wife and her maid with a hunting knife in this film,Jagged Edge.The story is about a taut mystery about an attorney who defends a newspaper publisher accused of murder.It stars Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close together with Peter Coyote and Robert Loggia. It is a courtroom thriller, written by Joe Eszterhas, and directed by Richard Marquand.When an unknown assailant gruesomely slays San Francisco newspaper heiress Paige Forrester, her husband and business partner, Jack Forrester, turns to corporate attorney Teddy Barnes for counsel. Teddy, who quit her job with the district attorney's office four years earlier over an ethical dilemma, has reservations about returning to criminal work; nevertheless, she accepts the assignment, convinced of Jack's innocence and eager to face off in court against her old boss, DA Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote), who's about run for attorney general. With the help of investigator Sam Ransom, the recently divorced Teddy builds a strong defense for her client, though the work and her incipient romance with Jack cause strain in her relationship with her children. When Jack's innocence and his romantic intentions come into question, Teddy feels her life slipping back into a moral quagmire until a series of courtroom denouements set the stage for even bigger surprises.Slick and manipulative, the movie is nonetheless a vastly enjoyable psychological thriller due to the expert turns from the talented cast.Although the screenplay does what it can to throw up a smokescreen, but the viewer will probably be well ahead of the story's final resolution.It is best when it's seen with a minimum of analysis as it becomes supremely effective.

Stupid courtroom thriller written by the master-hackster, Joe Eszterhaus. I probably should have shut it off as soon as I saw his name on the project. And the fact that it is a courtroom thriller doesn't help, as that's a genre I don't usually abide. It was directed by the guy who did Return of the Jedi. Jeff Bridges stars as a man suspected of murdering his wife. He hires Glenn Close to defend him in court. Both give what are among their worst performances. Less terrible are Peter Coyote as the prosecuting attorney (and apparently lead investigator? It's all very confusing) and Robert Loggia as Close's favorite private investigator. Loggia received an Oscar nomination for his work. He's the best part of the film, but he's barely in it. One wonders why we didn't follow Loggia on more of his investigations. Usually, he just shows up at Close's house or in the middle of court to tell her what he's found. The courtroom stuff is some of the worst ever done in a film. Eszterhaus has no idea how court works. I'm not an expert, either, but I know enough to say that everything that happens in this movie is utter crap. Honestly, the case against Bridges is so flimsy that it would never have come to court in the first place. There's a big twist by the film's end which is pretty obvious and entirely moronic. This is very much in line with Eszterhaus' later masterpieces Basic Instinct and Showgirls, but it's even dumber than those. Avoid at all costs.