Defenseless

This films opening scene takes place with a young girl cheerleader entering the mens locker room which turns out to be a porno film being produced. The story gets very complicated with murder and romance and the web of mystery keeps you spellbound through out the entire picture. Barbara Hershey(Thelma T.K. Knudsen),"Lantana",'01, is a lawyer who falls in love with a married man and gets deeply involved with his family and finds out that her best friend is married to him. There is a fight and the ice cubes seem to fly all over the place, besides blood in the mens bathroom which becomes a complete mess. There is even a fight in an elevator shaft and Sam Shepard (Detective Beutel),"Blind Horizon,",'04, comes to Thelma's assistance. Beutel is madly in love with Thelma but suspects her of not telling the truth about what is going on and feels she is becoming a number one suspect. This is a very enjoyable film worth viewing.

I watched this movie not expecting very much, but was pleasantly surprised at the outcome. Hershey gives her usual competent performance, as a successful lawyer called to defend an old school friend accused of murdering her husband. The plot although very contrived was quite clever with several twists. Overall I thought the film well directed and worth a watch.

The lawyer Thelma "T. K." Knudsen Katwuller (Barbara Hershey) is having a love affair with her client Steven Seldes (J. T. Walsh) that is accused of making under-age porn movies through the Blue Screen Production. When T. K. meets her old college friend Ellie Seldes (Mary Beth Hurt), she finds that she is Steven's wife and Ellie invites T. K. to have dinner with her family at her home. T. K. Decides to break-up with Steven and he asks her to meet him in his office. While waiting for Steven, T. K. finds that he owns the Blue Screen Production and had lied to her. When Steven arrives in the office, T. K. fights with him and stabs him in self- protection. On the next morning, Ellie is arrested is accused of murdering her husband and Ellie hires T. K. to defend her. T. K. Believes that the killer is the violent father of a teenager the made a porn movie produced by Steven, but Detective Beutel (Sam Shepard) feels that something is missing in the case.

"Defenseless" is one of my favorite thrillers from the early 90's. I have just watched it today on DVD, maybe for the third or fourth time, and I still like this underrated film. The plot has many twists, and Barbara Hershey and Sam Shepard are in the top of their careers. The 27 year-old Kellie Overbey is convincing in the role of an abused teenager. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Defesa" ("Defenseless")

Note: On 08 September 2024, I saw this film again.

This is not a bad little thriller complete with spooky garages and a scary fall down the elevator shaft scene although it's sometimes hard to figure out just who is who. The plot has many murky twists and turns (although I imagine the continuity suffered in being cut for television.) Nor do I understand why our lawyer/lover drives a beat up Karmann-Ghia. But this is obviously one of those films that took handouts from big tobacco. Everybody smokes everywhere. The good guys smoke. The bad guys smoke. The good guys who turn out to be bad guys smoke. The bad guys who turn out to be good guys smoke. The cops smoke. I'm surprised the judge and the jury didn't light up. The whole damn film is one big choking cloud of smelly blue smoke. Because of that I knocked my rating down two points.

Technically well-made but ordinary, unremarkable little mystery thriller. The script tries for ambiguity and succeeds most of the way, but ultimately goes for the predictable resolution. Martin Campbell's direction shows care and knowledge of the genre, but lacks style and seems mostly by-the-numbers. Barbara Hershey, although somewhat aging, still shines, and Walsh, Hurt and the actor who plays the brutal, deranged father offer excellent supporting work. But Sam Shepard just looks bored and disinterested. (**)