Plot
Remake of the 1956 film noir film "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" in which a writer's plan to expose a corrupt district attorney takes an unexpected turn.
Release Year: 2009
Rating: 5.7/10 (6,089 voted)
Critic's Score: 35/100
Director:
Peter Hyams
Stars: Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas
Storyline High profile lawyer, Mark Hunter has an impeccable record putting criminals behind bars and is a shoo-in for governor in the upcoming election. But when ambitious rookie journalist, C.J. Nicholas begins investigating Hunter for tampering with evidence to secure his convictions, the district attorney's perfect record is up for scrutiny. Commencing a risky game of cat and mouse with Hunter, C.J. frames himself as a murder suspect to catch the corrupt D.A. in the act. Romantically involved with C.J. but unaware of his assignment, assistant D.A. Ella Crystal becomes caught between her boss's political ambitions and C.J.'s dangerous expose. As mounting evidence stacks up against both men, Ella's own life becomes threatened when she discovers incriminating proof that puts the fate of both C.J's innocence and Hunter's reputation in her hands.
Writers: Peter Hyams, Douglas Morrow
Cast: Jesse Metcalfe
-
C.J. Nicholas
Amber Tamblyn
-
Ella Crystal
Michael Douglas
-
Mark Hunter
Joel David Moore
-
Corey Finley
Orlando Jones
-
Ben Nickerson
Lawrence P. Beron
-
Lieutenant Merchant
(as Lawrence Beron)
Sewell Whitney
-
Martin Weldon
David Jensen
-
Gary Spota
Sharon K. London
-
Judge Sheppard
Krystal Kofie
-
Taieesha
Randal Reeder
-
Survivalist Man
(as Randel Reeder)
Ryan Glorioso
-
Animal Shelter Attendant
Jon McCarthy
-
Detective Rawley
Grant James
-
Aaron Wakefield
Eric Gipson
-
Allen
Taglines:
Why would a man frame himself... for murder?
Opening Weekend: $17,164
(USA)
(13 September 2009)
(5 Screens)
Gross: $32,409
(USA)
(27 September 2009)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Director Trademark:
[Peter Hyams]
[character]
One of the characters is called Spota.
Goofs:
Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers):
There is no such thing as a "safety deposit box"in the United States. The proper term is Safe Deposit box. Movies and TV constantly get this wrong. A box-holder deposits their valuables in a safe, hence, Safe Deposit.
User Review
Interesting but severely unconvincing movie
Rating: 5/10
'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' is a remake of 1956 film noir (and they
really knew how to make them back then), casting looked good, plot
seemed very interesting and there was plenty of reason for me to watch
this movie. First thing i realized when i started watching is that the
production is kind of poor, when you watch this movie you get the
feeling that you're watching some B-movie. And the only case in which
B-movie can be good and considered a classic is when its original and
strange, and you can figure out that this one isn't, because as i said
it's a remake of then totally ordinary and often film noir. The cast
looked good to me at first, main star of course is Michael Douglas, but
the acting in this movie was surprisingly poor to me, considering the
script they were given these actors should've been a lot more
convincing than they were. Jesse Metcalfe, pretty-boy known from
several TV series (including soap operas...) just didn't seem cut out
for his role ever since the first scene he was in. Other than poor
acting, the script that was taken from 53 year old movie is basically
interesting and effective, but it was poorly executed and some events
were really forced which is never good in these kind of dramas that are
most effective when they are slow-paced. I still wouldn't blame the
main failure on actors, in my opinion Peter Hyams, the director and the
(re)writer of the screenplay did a very sloppy job and denied something
better to happen with this movie.
Still, 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' being what it is, it's still good,
very watchable and somewhat suspenseful, although i would call this
movie a fairly big letdown, because i simply hoped for something much
better. If you are craving for these kind of investigative dramas, then
i suggest you better watch 'State of Play' or 'Nothing But the Truth',
these movies are much better in terms of acting and production and
unlike 'Beyond a Reasonable Doubt' they are somewhat thought-provoking,
while after watching this movie you will simply forget it in the next
five minutes.
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