Sem Defesa

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.

Not a bad little thriller. Sure, there are some plot holes. But the production values are decent, nothing to complain about with the direction or photography. The cast did a pretty decent job with mediocre material. I rented the DVD and found that some scenes had been cut. One of the previous commentators mentioned a scene that was not in my version. Plus, there were two brief topless scenes by Kelley Overbey that were not in this version. I like gratuitous nudity as much as the next guy, but these cuts hurt the film. One wasn't totally necessary, but definitely falls into the category of character development. The other scene was major plot exposition, and the film suffered badly for its loss. IMDb doesn't have an age for Miss Overbey, and I wonder if she may not have been eighteen at the time. That's the only reason I can think of for cutting this film into incoherence for the DVD release. Too bad.

Defenseless (1991) was directed by Martin Campbell and it was okay at best.

Positives for Defenseless (1991): The performances from the cast with Barbara Hershey, Sam Shepard, J. T. Walsh, Mary Beth Hurt, Sheree North and George P. Wilbur are great. The movie is directed very well by Campbell. The movie's slow-pace works for the story being told. That's all I got to say for the movie's positives.

Negatives for Defenseless (1991): The movie's story wasn't really that interesting and the execution was very mid. While the pacing is good for the sores being told, it was a little too slow for me. I also felt that the ending was a little anti-climactic.

Overall, Defenseless (1991) is another okay enough directorial effort by Martin Campbell.

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.

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. (**)