Sob Suspeita

Wow, you get two tremendous lead actors - two of my favorites in Gene Hackman and Morgan Freeman - but, unfortunately, you get a very disappointing movie.

Almost the whole story, except for flashbacks, in this stage-like movie takes place in a police captain's (Freeman) office as he interrogates the murder suspect (Hackman). It goes on and on and gets depressing after awhile.

And....if you think that long segments gets tiresome, the ending will really leave you frustrated. See other reviews if you want to find out the ending.

This was a well produced and directed film starring two great veteran actors who both did an outstanding performance. Gene Hackman,(Henry Hearst),"The Replacements" 2000, was a very successful lawyer and well admired citizen of Puerto Rico along with his charming wife, Monica Bellucci,(Chantel Hearst),"Sheitan",'06. However, there was a very strange and dark side to their marriage and a long hallway and closed doors provided a very strange relationship for his couple. Morgan Freeman,(Captain Victor Beneget),"Edison",'05 is the chief of police and while he is investigating a homicide, he starts to question Henry Hearst and it is from this point in the film when all kinds of situations change and some of these very dark secrets come to light. Great acting and a great film, enjoy.

In Puerto Rico, wealthy lawyer Henry Hearst (Gene Hackman) is married to beautiful Chantal (Monica Bellucci). Police detectives Victor Benezet (Morgan Freeman) and Felix Owens (Thomas Jane) investigate Henry for the rape and murder of a young girl. There is no direct evidence but Henry's story starts to fall apart revealing marital problems and personal sexual accusations.

The material may not be worthy and the directing style is poor. This is a four-handed play with four great actors. There is good possibilities but ultimately, the story is unsatisfying. This deserves more cinematic style. It may be compelling for completists but for everybody else, these actors have been in better.

Ignore the grumbling about camera work, inexplicable location, Thomas Jane, and some peculiar directorial choices. See this movie for Hackman - I'm hard pressed to think of a more fully realized performance on film. He's just extraordinary.

If the thought of Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman acting opposite each other for basically the entirety of a movie inside an interrogation room doesn't excite you, then perhaps you should check your pulse. The acting in 'Under Suspicion' is worth the price of admission alone. It has plenty more to offer as well (despite some missteps along the way), however that is certainly the number one selling point this movie has.

There was a strange case here where the movie was a different type of movie to what I thought it was, but I didn't realise that until the final five minutes of the film. I won't say any more to avoid spoilers, however if you've seen it you likely know what I mean by that. I liked the mystery element the movie had going for it. I enjoyed playing along to see if I could work out what was happening. I could not, but it was still a fun ride.

For a movie with very little in the way of action, it still moves along at a brisk pace. Some well written dialogue and how well it is delivered helps in big part on this front. It didn't turn out to be the movie I wanted it to be, but it was still a fun journey along the way, and it's hard to be mad at that. 7/10.