Suspect

Rating:
Summary: PRIME SUSPECT
Review: Admittedly, SUSPECT asks the audience to suspend a lot of belief in its tale of a homeless man wrongly accused of murdering a young government clerical worker. But director Peter Yates and the talented cast more than make up for the plot mechanisms and legal liberties taken, crafting a tense and involving thriller. Cher plays the dedicated public defender who takes on the homeless man's case. Liam Neeson in one of his early roles plays Carl, the deaf and dumb accused with a tight passion and volatile flair that makes him very sympathetic. Dennis Quaid as the lobbyist who finds himself on the jury does well with his role, but it's hard to believe a juror would get so involved and risk not only a mistrial but possibly a disbarment for legal eagle Cher. Quaid and Cher's rapport is so tight, though, we can forgive the writer for this implausible scenario. John Mahoney is excellent as the stiff upper lipped judge who begins to suspect that Cher and Quaid may be working together. Joe Mantegna as the prosecuting attorney brings a haughty, but commendable, self righteousness to his role. There are some suspenseful moments and the movie is very enjoyable. Cher is quite convincing as a lawyer and looks extremely lovely to boot! Quaid's youthful energy works well for him, and he evinces the immense amount of talent that would come to serve him in his future roles. So, why did Cher stop making movies??

Rating:
Summary: Cher Bono-Public Defender.Human Rights activist..Superstar!!
Review: An original tale of corruption within the justice system. Cher defendsa vagrant, played by Liam Neeson, accused of murdering a legal secretary who worked for a supreme court justice, who had committed suicide. Randy Quaid plays a reluctant juror with dubious moral ethics, whose interest in the case takes 2nd place to his interest in the public defender. I liked the chemistry between these two. It was almost palpable. I also liked the cold, forbiding photography, depicting the Capital as a harsh, forbidding and uncaring place. Not the greatest mystery thriller, but certainly watchable,especially with Cher in a starring role, and not a sparkle of glitter or naked skin.

Rating:
Summary: Great twists! Great performances!
Review: Dennis Quaid delivers! As does Cher and Liam! NICE plot, great premise. The viewer gets very invested in the outcome. No gore, but some nice tense moments. Nice chemistry between Cher and Quaid--a surprise there. You will enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: One of Cher's best!
Review: I actually prefer this film to Witches of eastwick and Moonstruck! Great thriller that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. Cher plays a defense attorney for a deaf/mute & homeless Liam Neeson. Dennis Quaid is on the jury and together, he & Cher must unfold the mystery and prove her client innocent. The ending is extremely suspenseful and will leave you in disbelief. This was during Cher's peak as an actress.

Rating:
Summary: One of Cher's best!
Review: I actually prefer this film to Witches of eastwick and Moonstruck! Great thriller that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. Cher plays a defense attorney for a deaf/mute & homeless Liam Neeson. Dennis Quaid is on the jury and together, he & Cher must unfold the mystery and prove her client innocent. The ending is extremely suspenseful and will leave you in disbelief. This was during Cher's peak as an actress.

Rating:
Summary: Kellie Shanygne Williams
Review: I found out that Family Matters star Kellie Shanygne Williams is in this movie I am not sure who she played but I think she was one of the kids who stole cher's necklass.She was Laura Winslow on Family Matters who Steve Urkel was in love with.I Love Her a lot.she is a great actress

Rating:
Summary: It's not widescreen
Review: I ordered this dvd from Amazon and discovered to my dismay that it is full screen rather than widescreen as the amazon description says. It's a good film but would be better in widescreen.

Rating:
Summary: Above the law
Review: In SUSPECT, Cher plays Kathleen Riley, a defense attourney for the public. When a brutal murder is commited against a Justice Department file clerk, and a homeless man who is deaf and cannot speak is accused of the crime, and Kathleen gets the case. Dennis Quaid plays dairy farm lobbyist Eddie, who is a juror who helps Kathleen with finding evidence. This part of the movie is a little hard to swallow, but the performances make up for it. It's terribly unlikely a juror would become romantically involved with a defense lawyer as well. However the movie was fine otherwise, and one of the last scenes where an unknown assailant chases Kathleen down the hallways of the court house, is quite suspenseful and thrilling. Cher is very believable in this part. Overall, a great flick to rent, very suspenseful and has a surprise twist at the end.

Rating:
Summary: Average courtroom thriller with above-average performances
Review: Scenario: Cher as a disheartened lawyer defends deaf and mute tramp Neeson in a murder case, using Quaid, a member of the jury, to lead a behind-closed-doors investigation to suggest that the murder may go further up than anyone expected. So what you're in for is pretty much definitely going to be completely contrived, but not necessarily complete tripe. This is in main part due to some very good performances from the three central characters. Cher is surprisingly unglamorous and convincing as the tough cookie lawyer, whilst her sexual chemistry with Quaid is wholly believably. Quaid himself enjoys himself immensely in a role of unflappable lobbyist, and Neeson shows surprising depth for a character that after all has no dialogue. One scene in particular where he is outright accused of not only murder, but uselessness and an inability to adapt to normal society is one to which he reacts to in a not only believably outraged fashion but also in an equally believably emotional way.

With such good performances then it seems a shame that Suspect so often falls into cliché, in particular in the 'twist' at the end that reveals the real perpetrator of the crime. Not only is it entirely unbelievably but it also seems tagged on the end, especially given the seemingly last minute decision to have Cher act as your typical scream queen (albeit wearing a suit and high heels) as we find her running down a corridor followed by an ominous shadowy figure whose face we don't get to see. Even the detective work seems distinctly fishy, with Quaid having no problems walking through the slums in the middle of the night, nor Cher breaking into a car. That said though, the chemistry between the leads does jumpstart things a fair few times, not least in the court scenes, where their sparring provides the best entertainment of the entire film. Still, for a movie that starts off with a central topic of Neeson's murder case, it strays far too often away from the subject and into the 'forbidden romance' territory.

Whilst Suspect isn't bad (certainly doing nothing to damage the actors' reputations), it's not on par with the far superior Jagged Edge, or the later Primal Fear. Still, for basic solid entertainment, you could certainly do worse.

Rating:
Summary: best performance
Review: Sure, Cher won an Oscar for Moonstruck, but her performance here is the most convincing she's ever been on the screen.