Benefit of the Doubt (1993)

Really Surprised!

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Blistering performances.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

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.

How many times have I watched something for a period of time before realizing that I'm looking at Amy Irving? This film was no exception. The woman is a chameleon, and though she certainly has been recognized for her work, I think she's underrated.The plot of this film is mildly interesting - a man convicted of murdering his wife makes parole and looks up his daughter, who helped put him away. His daughter begins to doubt her testimony.It would have been more intriguing to keep the plot on that level, to have the audience unsure throughout the film. Unfortunately, the plot disintegrates past a certain point and becomes a chase film, albeit through some magnificent scenery.Donald Sutherland is very good in what has become a familiar role for him. But Amy makes the movie.

Likewise for me, it's been a while since I've seen this movie, however, I remember it distinctly because of its stars. I would recommend it for the following reason. If you have visited the area of Page, Arizona, and Lake Powell it's quite a kick to see this movie placed in that locale. Marvelous chases through the mysterious sandstone passages and on the water. Sometimes the location can be as much of a drawing point as the plot and actors. I've seen many otherwise mediocre things that have been filmed in a particular city or other location that I'm familiar with. London is among my favorites. Interesting twists of plot and getting three great names like Amy Irving, Donald Sutherland and Graham Greene is quite a coup. It's good viewing for a chilly night with nothing better to do.