Beneficio del dubbio

Contemporary thrillers tend to get relatively poor reviews. These films are held to what I think is an unreasonably high standard. Admittedly, a genuinely good thriller is very hard to find these days. It's about the writing mainly. The story counts a lot, as does the suitability of the actors to this genre. It seems that the glorification of multimillion dollar production values, meaning mainly special effects, has become more important to the industry than good writing and characterizations. For whatever reason, movies like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (original), Charley Varick, and The Getaway (the original) are a thing of the past. (Then again, there's the very good The Lincoln Lawyer.)

Nowadays, all one can expect is the more or less artful use of derivative material. Standards, therefore, should change. Don't expect another Charley Varick. Benefit of the Doubt should satisfy those looking for a reasonably plausible story, well executed tension and of course a first rate villain. This movie delivers on all those fronts. Sure, characters sometimes behave unrealistically, but realism and plausibility are inessential to thrillers. Recall Hitchcock's accurate denigration of "the plausibles", i.e. those who undermine a thriller because of implausible elements. - Donald Sutherland gives us a masterfully characterized bad guy, yet another testimony to this fine actor's beautifully honed thespian chops. The movie did for me what an acceptable thriller should do: keep me interested and provide some genuine suspense. This film is nothing more and nothing less than a better than good enough popcorn movie.

This 1993 drama/thriller 'Benefit of the Doubt' stars Donald Sutherland and Amy Irving. Sutherland delivers a strong performance (as does Irving) in a rather "straight to video" quality film.

Amy Irving plays a character very unlike her other performances (such as Carrie, The Fury or Anastasia). For one thing she doesn't have her trademark curly hair but is a straight blonde, she plays Karen an Arizona single mom who works in an adult bar and smokes cigarettes. She has daddy issues, 22 years ago her father Frank (Sutherland) was arrested and placed into prison with the help of Karen after attacking his wife and killing her.

Frank is released and Karen is hysterical when she first finds out her son Pete (Rider Strong) has had a harmless encounter with her father. Karen tells her son to promise her not to see him again but Frank finds ways trying to enter her life again and seems harmless doing it. What Karen doesn't know is if what she saw that night 22 years ago actually happened and if she can trust her father again, a man she help stay in prison for such a long time.

One word can describe Amy in this film, and that is 'HOT', she is incredibly sexy and has a racy scene with her on-screen boyfriend Dan (Christopher McDonald), Sutherland is 'good' in his role. I watched this not expecting much and is good, just good. It wasn't incredibly well made but it passes for a good midday movie or if you are suffering from incredible boredom.

6/10.

Donald Sutherland, Graham Greene, Christopher McDonald and Amy Irving all star in this odd little thriller that starts with Donald Sutherland's character Frank being released from prison after 22 years served for murdering his wife. It was his young daughter Karen's eye witness testimony that convinced the jury to convict him, but Frank is still maintaining his innocence. Frank maintains that his wife had been drinking and that they argued and she fell down the stairs. Now all Frank wants to do is help his daughter who has grown and become a single mom, waitressing to take care of her son Pete in the topless bar in their Arizona town.

At first Karen is terrified that her father Frank is in town, but he slowly wins her over to his innocence and things are going great until Frank discovers that her boyfriend Dan is about to propose.

Some great scenery in this dessert thriller including a great walk through a beautiful slot canyon and a gorgeous boat ride with a great rock backdrop.

Creepy story that might have been better with the original "did he or did he not" kill his wife left a mystery.

Probably not a recommendation from me unless you just really love Donald Sutherland...because he does creepy so very well!

Donald Sutherland is paroled from prison after 22 years. He was sent there for killing his wife, on the evidence of his daughter, Amy Irving. Now he wants to go home, repair the misunderstanding with her -- for he calmly insists that he did not do it -- and help take care of his grandson. After a while, he succeeds..... and then, of course, the story begins.

It's certainly a well cast movie, with Theodore Bikel and Graham Greene, and there's some startling photography of Glen Canyon in Utah. But it's another of the many, many movies that Sutherland made in this period, in which he played older men who you couldn't tell if they were nice guys or murderous creeps until, almost invariably, they turned out to be the latter. I grew tired of the trope and the casting early on, and a quarter of a century later, I see nothing here to change my mind.

I saw this film quite a while ago and really don't remember much of the story, which says quite something. I think it was about a father (Sutherland) who threatens his daughter and it was supposed to be a thriller. Sutherland has played a lot of these characters, but it's a shame he always ends up in ordinary, unremarkable films such as this one. It's not good, it's not bad, it's as mediocre as it gets. 5/10