Presumed Innocent

SYNOPSIS

Harrison Ford was at the peak of his popularity when he starred in this glossy, highly polished blockbuster, playing a lawyer assigned to untangle the murder of his former mistress. Based on the multi-million-selling novel by Scott Turow, this could have been a great movie, but, despite being a darn good yarn well told, the essential magic is somehow missing. Ford was born to portray taciturn, bright professional men, and Alan J Pakula was a consummate director of taut thrillers, with Klute and The Parallax View among his credits. Quite what turns a very good movie into a classic remains the great Hollywood conundrum - the elements are here, but they're too tightly threaded for this to attain classic status.