Callum Crane, a powerful lawyer, is seen in his summation on a case being tried for defamation of character. He has even orchestrated the right moment in which a ray of sun will shine on the defendant's face to dramatize the occasion, while fumbling on a Shakespeare quote. He is too theatrical to lose the case. His own take on the two million dollars awarded the offended party is probably half of it. Crane believes he can have Sophie Lennon, an attractive young woman who works in his office, just after he had been toasted by the partners. It was the wrong move because Sophie did not have any intentions to have sex with the powerful head of the lawyers' firm. Callum has no idea the humiliation he provokes in the young woman he decided to rape against her wish. Nathan Corrigan just recently out of jail for a car theft, returns to town hoping to go straight. His pals have another thing in mind. He receives a blow when he learns Callum is his father. Going to meet him, he runs into Sophie, with whom he likes from the start. Callum, who is not aware of the relationship, sees in the young man a powerful ally for what he wants to do when Sophie becomes his bitter enemy. Nathan becomes the instrument of Callum's wish to get Sophie out of the picture, something that backfires."The Guilty" a 2001 film directed by Anthony Waller is a film that seems to have gone to video, or did not get a commercial distribution. Written by Simon Burke for a television movie, it was adapted by William Davies for this new production shot entirely around Vancouver. The film has good moments, but the plot does not hold its momentum because its so many twists and turns. There are too many things that do not completely make sense, especially between Callum and Nathan, or for that matter, the nomination of Callum to a Supreme Court seat (state, that is, not federal) is too much to be believed, when as a star lawyer, Crane can name his price for any case he would decide to take.There are other plot holes that leave the viewer scratching his head, but one gives it the benefit of the doubt. There are other aspects that work. The sinister character of Callum is one of the creepiest characters Bill Pullman, a good actor, has been asked to bring to life. Gabrielle Anwar shows up as Sophie, the violated young woman who vows revenge on the powerful Callum. Davon Sawa appears as Nathan. The wonderful Joanne Whalley has nothing to do as the two-timing wife of Callum.

I saw this movie last night and was pleasantly surprised at what a good thriller it was.I won't give the plot away, but this film is full of twists and turns.At first I thought it was a long-lost son searching for his father, then I thought it was about a woman wronged. It had so many sub-plots, characters with agenda's and surprises galore.Devon Sawa (Final Destination) and Bll Pullman (Independance Day) are excellent in their roles, and add to the viewing pleasure.It starts out slowly, but gathers pace at an alarming rate.A buried treasure!

THE GUILTY is an adaption of the novel, by the same name, written by Simon Burke. Although I haven't read the novel, it is safe to assume that the film does not match the book, given the couple of flaws that let it down as a storytelling experience. However, its merits outweigh its faults, and it comes across as a solid cinematic thriller overall.Bill Pullman puts on an exceptional performance as Callum Crane, a ruthless big-time solicitor who gets roaring drunk one night after winning a huge lawsuit, and ends up violating one of his new secretaries, Sophie Lennon (Gabrielle Anwar). When Crane subsequently fires her in a feeble attempt to save face, Sophie blackmails him - unless he resigns, she reports the incident to the police and ruins his career anyway. Crane hires a young thug, Nathan Corrigan (Devon Sawa) to bump her off. Little does he know that Nathan is not only Sophie's flatmate, but his own illegitimate son from a fling in his law school days. Things get out of control when one of Nathan's thug mates, Leo Kilpatrick (talented unknown Jaimz Woolvett) decides to take on the contract himself after Nathan gets cold feet. While it pushes the "Six Degrees of Separation" theory to its limits, the film more than compensates for this with its excellent suspense scenes, evocative soundtrack and involved character development.I did, however, mention at the outset that there were a few flaws. Devon Sawa's acting is rather lifeless, but this is forgivable as he was a lot younger when he filmed this. There are a few, rather unnecessary frivolous scenes interspersed amongst the good ones, which should have been given some more thought. But what really let the film down was the cinematography. The camera-work and lighting was all rather bog-standard, not befitting the plot, which is that of a unique thriller. This served to dispel the suspenseful mood to a certain extent, making it seem too bombastic, and not involved and intimately human enough.THE GUILTY is a tale of sex, lies and the US legal system (whoops, tautology!!), and overall, quite an enjoyable thriller. The run-of-the-mill cinematography, however, meant this was never going to get any Golden Globes on the shelf. Good to watch on a dark and stormy night.

Reading all the above comments, both for and against I note that there was no remarks on the pivotal role of LEO, played by Jaimz Woolvett, this young man reminded me strongly of Gary Oldman, the intensity he brought to the instability and sudden rages of the character were first class, the emotional switch from bravado to weeping terror when confronted with a pistol to his head were frighteningly real.Bill Pullman, as usual gave value for money, his style of louche living and loose moral standards was excellent, young Devon Sawha seemed a little lost at first but with the more emotional scenes with his family and with the girl he rose to meet the challenge, he probably needs to move past the "pretty face" casting and look for more challenging roles. I rate 7/10