I liked this movie. Yes, the plot has holes. Yes, the actions of the characters are a bit on the implausible side. But it still has me interested in seeing what is going to happen next, which is one measure of a movie I think is worth watching. The ending ties things up too neatly and quickly, but by that time, I am okay with it. I like the chemistry between Cher and Quaid. Seeing a young Liam Neeson is nice, too. I hadn't seen this in a long time, and it was on TV this afternoon - and I was reminded of how it is a nice couple hours of not having to think too hard. Nothing wrong with that!

Very entertaining if not always plausible courtroom drama. Cher is excellent as a public defender who has her passion for the law restored by a special case, even if some of the outfits she wears in court are questionable (a leather jacket!? really?). Quaid also does good work keeping the smugness that often marred his work at a minimum but the real standout is Liam Neeson who was just starting to break out of the pack at this point and emerge as star material. Since his character is mute he has to rely on gestures and his facial expressions to convey his anguish and make the unsavory man he portrays someone you root for. An unusually strong supporting cast keeps this involving and Yates keeps the pacing tight. Kudos also go to the title sequence designer whose choice of music and a simple but evocative design set the tone immediately for the film.

"Suspect" is a hugely enjoyable courtroom thriller in which a Washington D.C. public defender becomes convinced that the suspect in a murder trial is innocent and also that the case is unwinnable. There doesn't seem to be any way out of her problem until she's offered help from an unexpected source. Unfortunately, accepting the help on offer also involves taking some extremely serious and potentially career threatening risks.Shortly after a Supreme Court Justice commits suicide and a clerk/typist who'd also worked in the Justice Department is found brutally murdered, a homeless man called Carl Wayne Anderson (Liam Neeson) is found with some of the victim's possessions on him and is immediately arrested and accused of her murder.Burned out public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) is assigned to the case and soon discovers that her client is uncooperative and prone to having violent outbursts. Communication with him improves gradually when she discovers that he's actually a deaf-mute but even then, she finds it almost impossible to find any significant information or evidence that could be helpful for his defence. To make matters worse, the trial judge Matthew Helms (John Mahoney) is unsympathetic to the problems she's experiencing and also seems more preoccupied with other matters as he's said to be the President's nominee for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid) is a jury member whose interest in the case leads him to carry out his own investigations. He wants to assist Riley by passing information on to her but any such collusion is strictly forbidden and punishable by disbarment. The couple do, however, work together and find some pieces of evidence which reveal that the murder victim had discovered evidence of a high level conspiracy to fix a politically important court case in which the Supreme Court Justice had been involved some years earlier. Ultimately this information provides an explanation for the suicide and the murder and also leads to the discovery of the identity of the real murderer.Cher and Dennis Quaid both give good individual performances but are even better when working together. The differences between their personalities lead to some entertaining exchanges and the high stakes involved also create a certain amount of additional tension.Riley is overworked, lonely and in desperate need of a holiday. She's struggling to cope against what seem like insuperable odds and doesn't feel resilient enough to take risks that could lead to her being disbarred. Sanger, on the other hand, is a Capitol Hill lobbyist who's used to pursuing his goals in a ruthless manner and has no inhibitions about cutting corners or acting outside the rules if such actions are likely to produce the desired results."Suspect" has a good plot with many moments of real suspense and the solid performances provided by Cher and Dennis Quaid are also complemented by those of John Mahoney, Liam Neeson and Joe Mantegna.

Cher and her role are what are special about "Suspect." She is not only a convincing lawyer, but a convincing person. But of course, she might have been more, much more, if she wasn't so surrounded with such pat arrangements in plot, tone, and characterization. The Quaid relationship should not have caved in to "romance," the judge should not have been a suspect, the prosecutor should not be so boiler plate, and so forth. In short, the whole project would benefit from more thought and seriousness, which would have also provided the real suspense, so lacking here. (what there is so strains credibility as to make it non-existent---you know, TV movie land)