L'affaire Angel Harwell

The script of "Shadow of a Doubt" is bad. Real bad. The dialogue has many inept points. The judge's lines are inappropriate and unrealistic. The DA is over the top and unbelievable. Scene after scene is right out of the cheapest, lowest quality pulp fiction. One of the lowest scenes is a retread of the old "death as an aphrodisiac" cliché. Then there's the shameless Alcoholics Anonymous propaganda. The origin of this is embarrassingly close to the life of director/star Brian Dennehy. At one point, his character references his time being sober as being virtually the exact same as Dennehy himself. Not that I have anything against the AA, but it just smacks of recent conversion fervor. Speaking of Brian Dennehy (who I like very much as an actor), he is not a good director. In fact, he has next to no ability to rein in his actors. He lets everyone wink at the audience and make cute little sideways comments to the camera. In effect, he invites everyone to overact as much as they care to.

So what's good about this film? Fairuza Balk is interesting. It's hard to say if her performance is uneven, or it's just the character. Either way, she's fun to watch. And the film is entertaining, albeit in an extremely lowbrow sort of way. I don't regret having seen it, but there isn't exactly anything to recommend here.

I take exception to the comments concerning the courtroom scenes. I was in those scenes...more notably the blonde in the leather jacket with the TV camera and other media types pressing Brian's character for information regarding the murder suspect.

We worked days shooting multiple camera angles to get the absolute best effect for the drama that unfolded in the courtroom. Scenes shot over and over again under the capable direction of Mr. Dennehy.

I think that if you truly evaluate the continuity and smoothness of scene by scene interaction you will agree that it fit the context of the movie.

Coop

Brian Dennehy portrays Charlie Sloan, a recovering alcoholic defense attorney back from the lower depths and hired by an old flame, Robin Harwell (Bonnie Bedelia), to represent her stepdaughter Angel (Fairuza Balk) in a murder case wherein Angel has been arrested for the slaying of her father and Robin's husband, wealthy Harrison Harwell, a case less than promising for the defendant after being snared in hiding with bloody hands and clothing, and possibly coerced into giving a videotaped confession. This is by way of being a vanity film for the always pleasing Dennehy who is seldom off the screen and who writes and directs here as well, and he is adept at building to a mood of suspense, although his acting range limitations are brought into focus. The cast produces pleasure with nice performances from Michael Nussbaum and Joe Grifasi, while Bruce McGill dominates his scenes as is his custom, and only the generally reliable Ken Pogue somehow not being able to act his way out of a box this time; it is, however, Fairuza Balk who contributes a star turn, by understanding her part and instinctively providing always appropriate shadings to her role. Excellent cinematography from Neil Roach and editing by Douglas Ibold also enhance this affair, making its weakness in the climactic courtroom scenes so disappointing, for when the cast must park itself before a judge, hackneyed scripting takes over, and the eventual post-juridical surprises lose their impact.

This movie was an interesting thrill ride. Lots of twists and turns all the way to the end. The acting is superb along with all other aspects of the film. A very well written story that is put together magnificently. You will not be disappointed especially with the performance of Brian Dennehy. Highly recommended. 7.3/10.