Auggie Rose

Jeff Goldblum is known for his quirky characters and his off kilter delivery. Once again his quirkiness works in this small gem of a movie. Having no expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by this tale of mistaken identity and rebirth. Jeff Goldblum plays John Nolan, an insurance executive in Armani suits and a rather nice car. His life seems to be idyllic, if not a bit stalled, when a bottle of wine and a bullet change everything. Nolan finds himself drawn to the life and death of a store clerk until he slowly begins to assume the man's life. Why would a successful business man want to step into the shoes of an ex-con? Goldblum's performance makes this life change subltly understandable. Anne Heche, craziness aside, has always been a fine actress and she is great here as the ex-con's pen pal. Sweet and naive she believes in this man and her capriciousness is contagious. She leaves her small town life to live with a man she's never met, but he's not the man she thinks he is. Check this one out for yourself.

For whatever reason, the original title of this film, "Auggie Rose," was changed to "Beyond Suspicion" for the video. The video title is very misleading, hinting at a dark, film-noir, thriller sort of movie.

It isn't. While there is one dangerous character who provides obstacles and intriguing possibilities for John, Jeff Goldblum's character, the film is populated by likable, interesting people. Auggie's still-incarcerated former prison cellmate is especially interesting. He's a criminal through and through, yet he has a world-weary wisdom about enjoying the simple things in life that makes him a tragic figure.

Jeff Goldblum is, as usual, totally wonderful, and Anne Heche struck just the right note in her portrayal of a sweet, kind, but not naive woman who is open and accepting with her love. This is a very well-made exploration of one man's journey into an entirely new way of life.

See it!

One of the markers of a fully realized film is quality casting that extends to the minor characters. Auggie Rose (really, a better title than Beyond Suspicion, and one that stands out as unique from other TV Movie titles- as does the film) is cast well all the way down to the Under 5s. Tabak has written a compelling exploration of the motivating power of guilt and the capacity for reinvention in times of despair. The conclusion is both eerie and unexpected (am I a heel for thinking that- see it and you tell me). But above and beyond the great work on the part of our writer/director and principles (Jeff and Anne do great work)it was delightful to see Richard T. Jones and Max Perlich again, Amy Hill stands out as particularly enjoyable and what can I say, I'll watch Timothy Olyphant any time. If you can't make it the Cinema Village in NYC where it just opened try to catch it wherever you can. Congrats Matthew.

I just watched this movie, which I had gotten on sale somewhere. The title on the DVD I picked up was "Beyond Suspicion" and I got it "on spec", more on the strength of the two headlining performers and the label "thriller." I guess it was a thriller, at least in some sense, but another comment that places it more in the Twilight Zone category seems more accurate to me. Yet not quite that either: this to me is a strangely charming movie, with good strong acting, fine cinematography, and above all, a great script with plenty of psychological twists and turns ... and a satisfying denouement that is appealing at several levels.

I hadn't really intended to comment ... I was just looking this up to see what else there might be about this movie on IMDb ... and then realized that I simply had to offer my humble and grateful homage to this exquisite film.

Really enjoyed this movie:the slow pace and the very "comfy" feeling the story radiates gives the whole a heart-warming glow.Goldblum is excellent: no overtones in his acting and Anne Heche is outstanding as the cute, rather unsophisticated girl.The deeper meaning? Well, as in "American Beauty", it's about that sudden flash of insight into the dreary everyday routine that prompts a daring individual to start all over again. In the case of "Auggie", there is a happy ending however and although the viewer tends to believe that the final scene will be a repetition of the opening one, he/she is in for a pleasant surprise. This movie is a credit to producers and directors who aim at giving motion pictures a human content and who still believe in moral values.