L'Avocat du diable

This film often on The Movie Channel was made in the early 90's when there was a lack of new suspense films...audiences were ready for something more. Also at this time was when "Silence of the Lambs" came out, and for that time was groundbreaking.

So for what this is, it is a good TV film. DeMornay as ambitious criminal attorney (she was very good in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle") wonder what she is filming these days.

Anyway, Don Johnson as ladies man who is accused of killing his wife. There is a cameo with Jack Warden (excellenet veteran actor who was also in Lumet's "And Justice for All" and "The Verdict" with Paul Newman an excellent courtroom drama).

Overall we have seen the story before, Johnson as conceited narcissist taunting his attorney...there is a twist at the end. There are several familiar scenes which Hitchcock aficionados will pick up on, including the "North by Northwest" cliffhanger ending. It's been done before, but worth watching for a few decent performances. 8/10.

I have seen this movie numerous times and it has become one of my favourites.

Rebecca DeMornay gives a convincing portrayal of slick Chicago Lawyer Jennifer Haines, who is looking to "feel her oats" as she puts it by taking on the toughest cases she can find. Enter the completely psychotic David Greenhill played extremely smoothly and surprisingly convincingly by Don Johnson.

He is a compulsive womaniser and has lived off of women most of his life. He is cold calculating but also incredibly charming and attractive to women. He is accused of throwing his wife from an 18 storey window and makes a good case for his own innocence. DeMornay though initially reluctant eventually decides to take on his case and here begins a nerve shredding game of Cat and Mouse that will ultimately end badly for one of them.

I really enjoyed the photography and the top drawer performances from the two leads, in particular Don Johnson who totally surprised me in his ability to portray a truly psychotic individual.

Stephen Lang's role as DeMornay's boyfriend is small and ultimately inconsequential in the film, Jack Warden's part is also fairly small but he does okay as an investigative aide to DeMornay. Ultimately though your eyes will be firmly glued on the two leads, to see how this plays out.

The ending although a little unbelievable does not detract much from the film which for me is worth 7/10

There's a big laugh in the middle of this contrived psychological thriller. I won't give it away, because it's easily the best moment in the film. It's the scene in a bar with Don Johnson, and it sketches in his character more brilliantly than anything before or after. You'll know it when you see it.

Well, if you see it. If the script had displayed that kind of wit throughout, this movie would be a must-see. As it is, there is too little that makes it memorable and too much that makes it hard to suspend disbelief.

Rebecca De Mornay plays a flashy criminal defense attorney who does her job with spectacular cunning – even for the most unsavory defendants. But her newest client (Don Johnson) is not just unsavory. He could be dangerous enough to kill her.

The first thing you'll notice is Howard Shore's excellent score during the title sequence. It's silky and sinister and immediately draws you in (despite the tacky-looking computer graphic that accompanies it). Next, the film looks really good. Sidney Lumet – who also gave us "Twelve Angry Men," "The Verdict" and many other terrific movies – knows how to direct a good courtroom thriller. And what a courtroom. The photographer, Andrzej Bartkowiak, makes the most of this spacious green-marble set.

An early scene is promising. Don Johnson glides into De Mornay's office and asks her to take his case, brazenly confessing that he's a womanizer and a gigolo – yet innocent of throwing his wife out of a skyscraper window. She refuses at first, but Johnson's boyish egotism is too hypnotically fascinating.

But later, both actors falter. De Mornay makes several bad choices in her performance, playing too many scenes like a frightened rabbit. Johnson has a scene in his apartment, where he makes a sandwich with a long kitchen knife that he winds up waving in De Mornay's face. His character loses control, but so does the actor. Johnson looks and sounds ridiculous.

But the main problem is the script from schlock-horror director Larry Cohen. First, there's Jack Warden's character, a father figure to De Mornay, who comes off as purely functional. He's there to do things De Mornay's character cannot, and we don't give a damn about him, not even when he winds up in danger.

Second, De Mornay ends up framing her own client, an enormously risky endeavor that could easily destroy her career and even send her to prison. Why? Presumably to protect herself and other women from Johnson. But the movie fails to convince us she has no saner options.

Third, there's the woman who becomes a last-minute witness for the defense. I won't give away too much, but her motivation for doing what she does is totally inscrutable.

Lastly, there's the gruesome climax. It plays ludicrously, though De Mornay is allowed one last, good moment. Her hysteria at the peak of her ordeal is touchingly real. Otherwise, the whole thing feels forced and phony.

So does the movie.

Johnson plays a womaniser accused of murdering his rich wife. DeMornay is the hot shot lawyer defending him. After a while DeMornay regrets having taken him on, gets convinced of his guilt and is afraid he may have some designs for her.

Slow but interesting thriller from Lumet. Film creates a kind of cat and mouse game between the two leads that's well written and fairly suspenseful. Rebecca DeMornay is tolerable in the lead, never quite convincing as the tough no nonsense lawyer. Much more effective when she's all broken down and vulnerable. Don Johnson however excels in his part, playing a slimy bad guy (who's, by the way, totally obsessed with himself) to a tee. Pity Johnson didn't establish himself as a major player in Hollywood.

Guilty as Sin is a bit slow but it's got a good story and some genuine suspense. You could do a lot worse.

What makes Guilty Of Sin so much fun, lies in it's title. We wanna believe the bad guy, Johnson, who we believe is pretty much guilty from the start, the movie's title, a strong inference, so you really can't call it a thriller. Johnson has always been an underestimated or underrated actor in my opinion, who never grade of A list, but has given so many good performances. Only here as a sexy, slimy, smarmy, narcissistic, son of a bitch who is as the title refers, he's exceptionally good, while De Mornay, defending him, isn't too bad. She falls for him, of course, despite the fact she's already involved. She soon realizes, this is her downfall, and by now he's pretty much soon he's got her, making her shake and cringe. Soon people around her are getting hurt, and the game becomes more violent. I've never enjoyed watching Don Johnson more, than in this, it's cool finale making you wanna jump up and clap. Despite the movie being a tad dry, with a kind of slow moving story, the latter really doesn't affect the film, thanks to bad guy Johnson and all the effectively tense and truly scary moments he delivers, in his performance, where sinning never looked better.