In the early 90s Grisham and Turow were the golden boys of legal drama. They churned out novel after novel, followed by movies of decreasing success. "Presumed Innocent", adapted from a long novel by Turow, is one of the first of these movies.Grisham plots tend to be rather simple, Turow's are more labyrinthine, with a large dose of politics added to the thriller. While a larger scope may benefit a novel, it is definitely detrimental to this movie.Rusty Sabich, played by a Harrison Ford in top form, is a chief deputy D.A. struggling with a guilty conscience. Rusty is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of his secret ex-lover and colleague Carolyn (an equally enthralling Scacchi). He proceeds, despite the huge conflict of interest.All clues point to him as the murderer, so we are given to believe that despite feeling bad about smashing his ex-lover's head, he will still try to cheat justice.The very long and politically incorrect "investigation" shows Carolyn in flashbacks, as somebody who had it coming. Rusty digs at some old case of corruption, involving political enemies and manages to drag this unrelated dirty laundry to court, leading to a mistrial.However, the truth is revealed at the end: the killer is actually Barbara, Rusty's frustrated - and deranged - wife. She plotted the murder for months in meticulous creepy details. The audience is left with Rusty planning to atone by spending the rest of his life with his nutty wife, because she is the mother of his child…. not a smart move, considering how revengeful she is…What could have been a passable thriller with a decent surprise-ending is spoiled and watered down by the political sub-plot. A tighter story at least 30 minutes shorter could have made for a more engaging view, the courtroom scenes are long and outdated and the dialogue is repetitive, with silly gags such as the judge purposely and childishly mispronouncing the name Della Guardia every time he gets a chance (which is way too often).

I've gotta admit that I conjured "The Fugitive" when reading the synopsis for "Presumed Innocent" (Harrison Ford accused of a crime he didn't commit), but the two movies are apples and oranges. With "Presumed Innocent", I got the impression that verisimilitude is what the filmmakers were after; show the audience the nuts and bolts of a trial, from the initial arrest to the actual hearing. The flashiness of your standard courtroom drama is absent here, which is why the movie is so methodically paced. And this is a great cast, although no one really has a fiery standout performance (except for Ford, whose decent man role defies his movie star status). Even Raul Julia (quickly becoming one of my favorite actors) is subdued here. Scratch that; subdued seems unfair. These actors are simply disappearing into the mechanics of the overall movie. The real surprise for me was that score, which sounds absolutely nothing like any John Williams music I've ever heard.I wasn't prepared for that ending, and I don't want to say it was cheap (although it felt that way at first), it did fit in pretty well with a movie's sleight-of-hand undercurrent.7/10

Alan J. Pakula directed this courtroom drama/mystery based on a Scott Turow novel that stars Harrison Ford as Deputy D.A. Rusty Sabich, who becomes a prime suspect in the murder of a coworker named Carolyn(played by Greta Scacchi) whom he was also having an affair with, despite being happily married to his wife(played by Bonnie Bedelia) He gets respected attorney 'Sandy' Stern(played by Raul Julia) to defend him, and their ensuing investigation leads them to some surprising secrets and motives, though the ultimate truth will hit Rusty close to home... Not bad film certainly has a fine cast and efficient direction, though it's always a pity to see a finely tuned script saddled with too much profanity and seediness. Still worth seeing though.

Absolutely Average Courtroom Melodrama that is a Dull and Unengaging Movie at Worst and an Almost Yawning Yarn at Best. Harrison Ford is Miscast or not up to the Task as an Accused Attorney that may or may not have Murdered His Female Colleague. He Definitely is Guilty of Behaving Badly because He Slept with Her.Director Pakula has made some Fascinating and Great Movies. This is not one of Them. He seems on Autopilot here as does the Multi-Ethnic Cast. There seems to be a Smorgasbord of Nationalities that are there for some sort of Political Correctness. It Reeks of Pretension as does the Surprise Ending that may not be much of a Surprise.The Pacing is Slow and the High-Lights are Lowly Lit and Hardly Exciting. In the End it is an Overrated Mood Piece that is so Stagy and Solemn that what Life the Story Contained is Drained Scene by Scene until it just lies there Waiting for the Verdict and when the Murderer is Revealed it is Talked to Death and Explained Point by Point in Case You Missed the Point of all this Drudgery.