Presumed Innocent (1990)
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94% of critics liked it
(33 reviews) -
63% of users liked it
(20,845 ratings)
Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a bland, oppressed man who burns with a quiet, corrosive intensity that can flare uncontrollably. A Philadelphia prosecutor, Sabich's fire seems to have one outlet: his job. He loves prosecuting people. Otherwise, his life is dead-ended. He has a loveless marriage… More Rusty Sabich (Harrison Ford) is a bland, oppressed man who burns with a quiet, corrosive intensity that can flare uncontrollably. A Philadelphia prosecutor, Sabich's fire seems to have one outlet: his job. He loves prosecuting people. Otherwise, his life is dead-ended. He has a loveless marriage to a neurotic woman (Bonnie Bedelia) and an overbearing boss (Brian Dennehy) in a labyrinthine law enforcement world of corruption and twisted relationships. Then Carolyn Polhemus (Greta Scacchi) comes into his life. Lovely and seductive, Polhemus easily entices him to break his marital vows, but she schemes to get him to try for his boss' job. When he refuses, she leaves him. When she turns up dead, the victim of an apparent rape-murder, clues begin to point to Sabich. His blood type almost perfectly matches that in the semen found in the victim, carpet fibers at the crime scene match those found in his house, and most damning, his fingerprints are found on a beer glass in Polhemus' apartment. His protestations of innocence ignored, Sabich is put on trial for the murder and hires his biggest adversary (Raul Julia) to defend him. ~ Nick Sambides, Jr., Rovi
- Directed By
- Alan J. Pakula
- Written By
- Frank Pierson, Alan J. Pakula, Scott Turow
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
- In Theaters
- Jul 27, 1990 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Bros.
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
Honed to a riveting intensity by director Alan Pakula and featuring the tightest script imaginable, Presumed Innocent is a demanding, disturbing javelin of a courtroom murder mystery.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
In a welcome return to suspense, Pakula effectively conveys the claustrophobia of domesticity and courtroom procedure.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
Mr. Ford, who comes alive in the flashbacks recalling his tempestuous affair with Carolyn, spends much of the film with a wary, cautious expression masking all other emotions. He does this with flawless delicacy...
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Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Ford -- breaking again from his Indiana Jones heroics -- is astonishingly fine in a performance of controlled intensity.
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John Hartl, Film.com
An engrossing adult drama that relies on complex characterizations and twisty plotting, and doesn't ask us to accept its central character as a superman.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Harrison Ford
as Rusty Sabich
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Brian Dennehy
as Raymond Horgan
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Raul Julia
as Sandy Stern
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Bonnie Bedelia
as Barbara Sabich
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Paul Winfield
as Judge Larren Lyttle
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Greta Scacchi
as Carolyn Polhemus
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John Spencer
as Detective Lipranzer
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Joe Grifasi
as Tommy Molto
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Tom Mardirosian
as Nico Della Guardia
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Anna Maria Horsford
as Eugenia
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Sab Shimono
as "Painless" Kumagai
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Bradley Whitford
as Jamie Kemp
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Christine Estabrook
as Lydia "Mac" MacDougall
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Reodorina Bello
as Ernestine
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Michael Tolan
as Mr. Pohlemus
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Madison Arnold
as Sgt. Lionel Kenneally
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J. Bennett
as Guerasch
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Ronald C. Frazier
as Stew Dubinsky
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Jesse Bradford
as Nat Sabich
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Joseph Mazzello
as Wendell McGaffney
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Tucker Smallwood
as Detective Harold Greer
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Leland Gantt
as Leon Wells
- Teodorina Bello
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David Wohl
as Morrie Dickerman
- John Michael Bennett
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Carla Goff
as Reporter
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Bo Rucker
as Mike Duke
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Peter Appel
as Glendenning
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John Ottavino
as Chet
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Robert Katims
as Cody
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Joseph Carberry
as Mr. McGaffney
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John Seitz
as Balestrieri
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Bill Winkler
as Tom
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Richard L. Mewcomb
as Undercover Cop
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John C. Vennema
as Hudge Mumphrey
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Michael Genet
as Court Clerk
- Richard L. Newcomb
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Ed Wheeler
as Jim Arresting Detective
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Miles Watson
as Arresting Detective
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DeAnn Mears
as Loretta
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Julia Meade
as Moderator
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Thom Cagle
as Camp Counselor
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Ricky Rosa
as Camper
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Allison Field
as Reporter
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Janis Corsair
as Reporter
- Bill Corsair
- Carla Barnett
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Rick de Furia
as Prosecuting Attorney
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Victor Truro
as Prosecuting Attorney
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Liz Williams
as Prosecuting Attorney
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Jeffrey Wright
as Prosecuting Attorney
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Ted Neustadt
as Prosecuting Attorney
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Kimberleigh Aarn
as Prosecuting Attorney

