Schuldig - Ein mörderischer Auftrag

At first, I didn't think this would be a really good movie at all because I've never heard of it before, I only found out about it from a friend. But when you start to watch it, you get right into the storyline & you don't want to turn away from it for a second. There's lots of plot twists & the actors are great. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes a good "thriller".

This one was very good about a corrupt lawyer-turned-judge(Bill Pullman) who is blackmailed for rape by his secretary and his son, Nathan, whom he doesn't even know(Devon Sawa) who returns from serving a bid for grand theft auto and is paid off by his father to kill the woman who is blackmailing him - Nathan hates his step-father but then finds out that his true father is the scum-bag that he should be hating. Bill Pullman does great as the self-centered and dishonest Crane - I hated him as the movie went on, and Devon Sawa gives a great depiction of Nathan, his ex-convict son who seeks him out to find out who he is. Wonderfully scripted about fate coming back to haunt you when you don't cover your own tracks. Character development in this doesn't go on unnoticed

This is a flawed film, not flawed creatively, but in its sidestepping of consumerism. We, collectively, have been taught to expect certain things from movies and those things are attributes that make box office. That isn't necessarily stuff that makes good stories. This movie deviates, I think, from formula in one pivotal and disturbing scene. It doesn't give us what we've come to expect, it gives us something else, much as the movie "The Pledge" did, which also trashed its chances at the box office. But if you don't demand the "norm" in your films, this is a complicated and delightfully twisting tale of indulgence and getting accidentally swept up in things we had no intention of messing with. Personally, I found what has been called weak performances as low keyed and powerful and I had fun letting Bill Pullman do something ... well, sinister. It isn't a great film, it's for buffs who like something oddball to carry in their knapsack of cinematic experiences. It ain't for everyone, but for those it's for, it's a treat. On its most basic level, it's about a powerful man who, in aggresive drunkeness, rapes a nearly willing secretary and wants her to forget about it because of his career. On the other level, it's about what goes around doing its thing. Newton's Law. And you know laws, we will abide by them.

A very entertaining thriller. The screenplay is full of twists and coincidences which would appear shamefully incredible in other hands, but here the whole cobweb is managed cleverly and for moments we seem to be in front of a real Greek tragedy. Waller builds some great moments of tension that keep you in the edge of your sit.Bill Pullman is superb as the mean, tricky lawyer. Worth seeing.

On the up side, "The Guilty" offers deceit, infidelity, romance, rape, murder, family matters, and characters ranging from powerful and wealthy to scumbags and thugs all supported by an excellent cast. On the downside, this Simon Birch knock-off heaps coincidence upon coincidence as it weaves its very improbable story with characters behaving as necessary to make the convoluted plot work. In the final analysis, "The Guilty" makes the suspension of disbelief easy by slowly sucking the audience into its complex web of intrigue. An above average little flick good for 100 minutes of escapism with nary a dull moment.