À double tranchant

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs.

Revisited it recently.

The movie doesn't have sufficient tension but the twist regarding the manipulation n foreplay via horse riding was twisty.

There is a lousy unofficial Bollywood remake known as Kasoor which has an illecebrous babe, Lisa Ray.

A man discover's his wife and maid have been murdered, an investigation ensuses and sooner rather than later he is deemed the main suspect and Is hauled in for the crime. he enlists the help of a pretty young lawyer who he eventually falls for,, the two get close,, and she let's her emotions run wild, and cleary she falls for him while defending him against the charges that he brutally murdered his wife,, apparently though his wife was cheating at the time,, and her boyfriend turns up dead later, on, but there is more to this than we think as the lawyer's assistant's dig up more information on her and the boyfriend,, classic edge of you're seat thriller , that will keep you guessing until the end.

JAGGED EDGE (1985)-- Grade: B

I don't know why JAGGED EDGE is known as one of the best mystery films of the '80s. Let's face that this decade was not amazingly great for movies, but of course there were better mystery films: DRESSED TO KILL, BLOW OUT, HOUSE OF GAMES, BODY HEAT, just a few that come to mind. JAGGED EDGE is not able to escape from most of the clichés of courtroom drama and what it's worst: it shamelessly manipulates the audience. The main comment here has the same complaint, so I think many people agree with me. The one that should be blamed is Joe Eszterhas, who would write the screenplay for BASIC INSTINCT, a worldwide success, seven years later. He knows how to manipulate audiences, to make them stay aware and to keep their attention tightly without a shame, purposing questions with only two answers: yes or no. Did he kill her or didn't he? Eszterhas makes us believe in both possibilities several times during less than two hours. Using, of course, not very credible plot twists. ....... OK! So JAGGED EDGE is cliched and manipulative. It's difficult to forgive the first, but why shouldn't we forgive the latter? Don't we like to be cheated in some cases?

If you think it's difficult to forgive the way this film grabs you, there are other ways to like it. The story, even cliched, is still interesting and suspenseful. The directing is great and the actors are pretty good. Glenn Close is reliable as the lawyer and Jeff Bridges, who has made a career of hits (ARLINGTON ROAD) and misses (KISS ME GOODBYE), is convincing as the mysterious client.

JAGGED EDGE is a flawed film, but its manipulation has a good side. At least we care about the characters and the story. This is not a good way to write screenplays. This is not the best thriller of the '80s. But it is far ahead of some cheap productions of the '90s (BODY OF EVIDENCE, SLIVER, both with similar situations to JAGGED EDGE).

San Francisco heiress Page Forrester is brutally murdered along with the maid in a sadistic manner. District attorney Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote) has the case. Her husband Jack (Jeff Bridges) is soon a suspect with a financial motive. He hires lawyer Teddy Barnes (Glenn Close) who worked under Krasny. She hasn't done a criminal case since a questionable case 4 years ago with Krasny. She falls for Jack but she can't be certain about him.

The problem is that Krasny only has a circumstantial case. I kept waiting for some sort of physical evidence. I know this was pre-CSI but it still feels very flimsy. Jeff Bridges is a little too cold and I can't buy completely that single mom Glenn Close would fall for him so quickly. That's because Close exudes smarts and not the flighty innocent that is required. The acting goes overboard a bit after the second crime is revealed. I don't think she did anything out of the ordinary. The final scene doesn't really make much sense either because he would obviously be discovered later. There is a good whodunnit mystery here but it has a few too many jagged edges.

If you have never seen this film, then stop reading reviews and watch it because the film really works better if you don't know anything about it.

Now, the film is certainly flawed, but it's still interesting to watch.

I love courtroom thrillers, and there's plenty of court drama here, but not enough to make the picture work. I think another 20 minutes would've added much more depth to courtroom sequences.

The acting is excellent, but the direction could've been sharper. I found the romance to be contrived, never had a flow to it, it just happened.

Some blame must go to the screenplay, it wasn't strong, not enough depth to the characters, and some of the courtroom stuff was unrealistic.

The photography is excellent, it hooked me into the picture.

Overall, a good film, but I think the writing was a bit lazy.