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Under Suspicion

Under Suspicion

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: An interesting acting tour de force
Review: I'm really surprised this movie did not get a decent theatrical release. The story, a cat and mouse game, between Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman is gripping. Monica Bellucci is both beautiful and interesting as Hackman's wife. This forgotten movie is worth a look.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Bizarre to the End
Review: Here's a film with two great actors that seemed to muddle through the script and plot. Maybe it's cause I worked a full day before seeing this, but I kept falling asleep. Hackman is a guy accused of a rather heinous crime, and Freeman is the cop trying to tie him to the crime. The whole film is basically one long interrogation. I thought that the film dragged on, but the end actually tied everything together nicely, and made for a well written closure to an otherwise "blah" movie. If you want to see Gene Hackman in a better role, take a look at "The French Connection".

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: What the................
Review: Loved it, loved it, loved it - until the end. What's up with that? Was he THAT unhappy? Or did the producer run out of money and have to think of a way to end things?

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: What's up with that?
Review: My wife and I have four degrees between the two of us. Not to say that we are the smartest people in the world, but we must know a little of something. And collectively, all we can say is "What's up with that?" If you have to discuss and create your own ending, only to come to the conclusion that there is no ending, is obsurd. Maybe Hackman and Freeman should have actually watched the movie beginning to end before they threw it out there for the public to see. "Hack"man says it all for this movie. My wife and I both had all of the respect in the world for these two fine actors before this movie, but now all I can say is "stick to acting."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Two old pros conjure a masterpiece of misdirection
Review: Puerto Rico is the unlikely setting for UNDER SUSPICION, a who-done-it that's essentially a stage spotlighted for two of America's finest actors, Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman. The latter plays a police captain, Victor Benezet, investigating the recent rape and murder of two young girls. Hackman plays lawyer Henry Hearst, Victor's erstwhile friend, and now the prime suspect. This film features less of Hollywood's usual recipe of thrills, and focuses more on the personalities of the two principals as they verbally spar back and forth as Benezet attempts to close the case. Thomas Jane plays a young homicide detective who'd rather beat a confession out of Hearst than obtain one through the finesse of interrogation. The magnificently sensual actress, Monica Bellucci, plays Hearst's much younger wife Chantal, icily unavailable to his physical affections after deciding that he was having an affair with her teenage niece. Or was he?

The duel begins when Benezet requests that Hearst stop by the police station to answer a few minor questions. After all, it'll only take ten minutes or so, and Hearst will not be delayed attending a charity fund-raising dinner across the street, at which he is to give the main toast at the behest of Benezet's boss, the police Superintendent. Talk about pressure to get on with it.

Initially, the plot seems nothing more than a revamped COLUMBO script, as a weary police officer tries to winkle a confession out of a canny adversary. But, it's more than that, even beyond watching these two old pros, Hackman and Freeman, display their acting skills. As Hearst recounts his alibis, which are portrayed to the viewer as flashbacks, the director inserts the Benezet character into those scenes, as if he were physically present, allowing him to ask more questions of Hearst as his alibi unfolds. This is an ingeniously clever effect that I've not seen in any film previous. And then there's the stunning beauty of Bellucci as she plays Hearst's Ice Queen. Wow! (Yeah, I know, mine is a guy fascination, just like in Monica's splendid Y2K film MALENA.)

The ending is totally unexpected. ("Huh? Say, what!"). And, profoundly sad, if one considers the ties that continue to bind in a love relationship gone sour.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Flop Of An Ending
Review: All I have to say is that all the way up until the end this movie was great... then they destroyed it by trying to give us that 'big twist' ending. Boo.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Captivating
Review: Wow, what a great film. Produced by Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman this remake of "Garde A Vue" (and based on the book Brainwash) was totally captivating. Henry Hearst (Gene Hackman) is asked by friend Captain Victor Benezet (Morgan Freeman)to stop by the station and answer a few questions. The day before Henry discovered a body of a young girl and a few details needed to be sorted out. But what starts as a conversation turns into a long interigation where Henry becomes suspect and a hidden past is revealled.

I love the way this movie was shot. The director Stephen Hopkins(Lost In Space)used an unusual way of showing the interogation where the crime scene was reinacted while Henry described it. Gene Hackman deserves an award nomination for his performance in this film. Its not often he is cast as this type of character. In the begining of the film it looked like the usuall Hackman but his character turned from a strong willed person to weak, frail and scared, and he did it perfectly.

The dvd has both wide and full screen options, Stephen Hopkins and Morgan Freeman commentary, making-of featurette and theatrical trailer. I hear alot of people confused about the ending, if you don't understand it listen to the commentary and they will explain it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: would have given 5 stars if the ending were more clear
Review: I watched the movie, was a little thrown off by the ending, but here is what I think was going through Henry's head:

Henry is a stubborn man from the middle class who is living his dream life, especially from the outside looking in. He has money, power, some local fame, & a trophy wife. The reality is his marriage is in shambles. Remember what he said about getting divorced, he would be ruined finacially, losing his house, half his money, and half his share of the law firm. Socially he would be regarded as a fool because he let go of a young attractive women, and, As Morgan points out, the only reason he is on everyones A list is because of his wife. Seeing the insurmountable evidence against him, his way of bowing out of his marriage gracefully (ugh) was to confess to the murders. This sounds stupid, but, rather than give up everything he will be taken where he won't have to deal with any of the repercusions(sp?) of his break-up.

thats about the only semi-rational reason I can come up with. Mike

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the true crime
Review: yes the movie is absolutely thrilling, yes the acting is captivating and yes the production is brilliant. in reading others' reviews, it seems the question that irritates all is who is the killer. was it gene hackman? did he have something to do with it? this is not essential to the story. the movie is based on the book Brainwash by john wainwright. only from the title of the book, i am assuming the important point of the movie is the fact that the police can twist things around to get to what they want. the killer is not important, and while it drives us all crazy not knowing, it's not important. by revealing the killer, the focus is brought to the crime, which is not the theme held throughout the movie. watch the movie a second time, paying attention to both this and to the actions of the detective played by Thomas Jane.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Could someone PLEASE post an explanation of the ending?!?!?!
Review: This movie was fairly entertaining, but the ending is extremely unclear and succeeds only in ruining the whole movie.


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