Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

An ambitious reporter takes an extraordinary risk to bring down a corrupt district attorney in Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, a modern-day remake of Fritz Lang’s final feature. On occasion, Shreveport newsman C.J. (Jesse Metcalfe, Desperate Housewives) receives confidential tips from assistant D.A. Ella (Amber Tamblyn, Joan of Arcadia), but Ella hesitates to go out with him due to the conflict of interest. It doesn’t help that he considers her boss, gubernatorial candidate Martin Hunter (Michael Douglas, whose performance recalls Wall Street’s Gordon Gekko), ”too smooth,” adding, ”I’m not sure he’s honest,” but she eventually yields to C.J.’s charms (hey, it worked for Gabrielle Solis). Little does she realize that he plans to expose Hunter as a fraud--by framing himself for an unsolved murder. C.J. figures if he teams up with cameraman Finley (Joel Moore), he can’t lose, but he never stops to consider the consequences if something happens to Finley or the video that proves his innocence. So, the trial proceeds, but once Hunter gets wind of the scheme, he goes after C.J. with all his might. Ella is the only one who can help him, but to do so means to put her career--maybe even her life--on the line. There’s a nasty twist at the end of this entertaining, if shallow, courtroom drama, and director/cinematographer Peter Hyams, who previously worked with Douglas on The Star Chamber, sprinkles the suspense with some tension-relieving zingers from Orlando Jones as a cop who suspects something fishy is afoot. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

2009

PG-13

013139000599

Crime Thriller

Movie

1

7

5.8

2018-02-07 21:32:37

1.85:1

106

United States

2009-07-10

MPEG-2 (H.262)

1080p

16:9

4.7 GB (DVD)

1

1

Keep Case

~$4.06

2026-04-14

2018-02-07 21:32:37