Studio Name: Anchor Bay (Autonomous Films/Foresight Unlimited/RKO Pictures)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Disc/Transfer Information: Widescreen 1.85:1
Tested Audio Track: English Uncompressed PCM 5.1
Director: Peter Hyams
Starring Cast: Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas
WHY WOULD A MAN FRAME HIMSELF…FOR MURDER?
SYNOPSIS:
Before we delve into this made-for-broadcast-like-feel-esque film, let me preface the review by stating that the sexy little Amber Tamblyn is just so deliciously cute and hot, I can’t believe this smokin’ chick didn’t go further with her soap opera career. She’s ridiculously foxy-lookin’ in this, parading around as an Assistant DA in really short skirt suits and high stilettos, showing off her toned, tight body – man, did I envy Jesse Metcalfe’s character in this after he gets to bed her.
I recall an advertising campaign which suggested
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt was actually something much more than the final product actually exhibited; the marketing tactics had this being touted as a release from a major studio starring none other than the genre-driven Michael Douglas. What I was witness to after viewing this Blu-ray Disc release from Anchor Bay Entertainment and RKO Pictures came off more like a made-for-cable who-dun-it with amateurish camera shots and fade-outs than anything the teasers made it out to be. My wife loved it; I was not entertained in the least, save for gawking at Tamblyn’s tight behind and mile-high toned legs. I will agree with one thing in terms of the wife’s viewpoint: You won’t see the twist of an ending coming at all.
The premise of
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is far-fetched and ridiculously boring as I see it; the rather annoying, nearly monotone Jesse Metcalfe plays a television reporter covering local Louisiana stories such as blindfolded coffee taste tests (I’m not kidding about this – remember when I said this played like a made-for-Lifetime picture?) and when he stumbles into a courtroom in which hotshot DA Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) is prosecuting an African-American man for murdering an African-American young woman, he begins hatching a plot to get ahead in his job. He comes up with the theory, after listening to Hunter (Douglas) introduce evidence of a smoked cigarette at the crime scene and how it connects the accused, that Hunter and his office has been planting evidence on victims and suspects just to win the cases. Now envisioning a career leap based on this story that can crack the whole DA office to pieces, Metcalfe’s character confronts the lovely and delicious Assistant DA (Tamblyn) so she could share some files with him.
Here’s stupid plot setup number two: Initially, Tamblyn wants nothing to do with Metcalfe’s sexual advances as he asks her for the files – within less than 10 minutes, she agrees to a Chinese dinner date and before you know it, she’s over his apartment bouncing up and down on his hips in bed, moaning and groaning in ecstasy. While it was downright delightful to watch the naughty Tamblyn reach orgasmic pleasures – albeit covered by sheets in Metcalfe’s bed – the notion is ridiculous and pathetic. This rather prudish tart goes from cold clam to sweltering slut in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Metcalfe hatches his plan with his friend at the TV station, some goofy nitwit that goes along with the scheme of cooking up evidence in order to “frame” DA Hunter and prove they’re planting evidence during cases. Together, Metcalfe and his co worker pitch the story to their boss – which is more like a near-demand for him to accept this pitch – but when he refuses and puts them on downgraded assignments, the two of them decide to do it on their own.
How do they do this? Well, first they examine a new crime scene that recently popped up in their Louisiana district – Orlando Jones (who actually steals the show in this film beyond any other performance here, including Douglas’) plays the witty, sarcastic detective assigned to the murder of a freshly-carved hooker found dead, and he’s approached by Metcalfe and his idiotic buddy who asks all sorts of questions about the dead body. Getting details from Jones, the two of them begin to acquire the necessary things to reenact this crime scene, including the supposed sweat pants the murderer wore, a ski mask, pepper spray and a unique pair of Italian tennis shoes that they order over the internet via eBay as they’re so rare. Supposedly, these were the shoes worn by the suspect. Then, they visit a weapons depot where they are helped by a rather creepy and large neo Nazi-type behind the counter as they shop for the right kind of knife that may have been used in this crime. All the while, Metcalfe’s imbecile friend is capturing the purchases on camera so there’s proof all this was bought after the actual murder to set this all up – thus, letting Metcalfe off the hook for what he’s about to do.
Metcalfe then begins the “setting up” process, in which he pretends to be !!!-faced drunk when speeding so he’s arrested. Once released from his holding cell when the friend bails him out, Orlando notices the rare Italian-made sneakers on Metcalfe’s feet…and remembers the M.O. from the murdered hooker crime scene. Eventually, “planted” evidence leads to Metcalfe’s apartment, where Orlando arrests him for the murder of the dead hooker, but as he’s having his rights read, a strange entity shows up from supposedly the DA’s office to finish the booking process. Suddenly, Metcalfe is put on trial for the murder of the prostitute, but, again, this is all to somehow prove that Hunter’s office is dirty and is planting evidence.
From prison, Metcalfe begs Tamblyn to believe his story, that he didn’t kill the girl, and that her boss is corrupt. Tamblyn struggles with this, but eventually does some digging of her own and comes across some incriminating information. Michael Douglas’ Hunter character realizes she’s getting too close to all of this and puts his watchdog on her – the same guy that came to finish Metcalfe’s arrest. He follows her every move until she gets way too in over her head and he attempts to kill her by running her down with his car in an empty parking garage. Jones comes to her rescue and shoots the guy dead from outside the windshield, and now the pressure is on Metcalfe to prove that Hunter’s office planted the evidence which landed him as a suspect…
Or something like that.
To be honest, at this point, I didn’t really care. I thought Michael Douglas would be the saving grace here, but alas, it turned out to be the wiseass cop character Orlando Jones plays. As I said earlier, there is a wild twist at the very end that you most likely won’t see coming, but it’s connected to a videotape made by Metcalfe’s character years earlier in which he was a reporter in Buffalo, New York, and in which he interviewed a black woman regarding her homelessness and child. Could it be Metcalfe has something to do with this more than Douglas’ DA character does? Is it possible there’s a striking resemblance between the dead hooker he’s on trial for killing and the homeless woman he interviewed years ago in Buffalo?
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is filmed in such a way – and you’ll sense it the moment you begin getting into it, if you’re a seasoned film enthusiast – that smacks of beginner director work, and the cheap fade in/fade outs between sequences reeks of broadcast-ready material, not of a serious theatrical film. Surprisingly enough, Anchor Bay was in conjunction with RKO Pictures on this one, but the final product was seriously disappointing, lacking charisma, soul or polish. This felt like I was watching an hour and forty minutes of
As the World Turns; Metcalfe’s acting was horrendous and very soap opera-like, while Tamblyn, while tantalizingly cute to look at, needs to really stick with daytime work. Douglas playing the cocky DA Hunter does reasonably well here, but this clearly isn’t
Falling Down, Fatal Attraction, War of the Roses, The American President, et al; it almost seemed as though Douglas needed a paycheck – and that’s how his performance comes across in
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.
CONTINUED BELOW...
