Presumed Innocent is a 1990 American legal
drama film and adaptation of Scott Turow's 1987 novel of the same name.
Directed by Alan J. Pakula, and written by Pakula and Frank Pierson, the
film stars Harrison Ford, Brian Dennehy, Raúl Juliá, Bonnie Bedelia,
Paul Winfield and Greta Scacchi. The story follows Rusty Sabich (Ford), a
prosecutor charged with the murder of his female colleague and mistress
Carolyn Polhemus (Scacchi).
Before publication of the novel, the film rights became the subject of a
bidding war among a host of established film studios and producers.
Sydney Pollack and Mark Rosenberg acquired the rights in December 1986
and hired Pierson to write the script. The project continued development
at Warner Bros., and Pakula was brought in to rewrite the script with
Pierson before signing on as the film's director in January 1989. On a
budget of $20 million, the film's principal photography commenced in May
1989 and concluded in October of that year. Filming took place on
locations in Detroit, Windsor, Ontario, and New Jersey, and on
soundstages at Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York.
Presumed Innocent held its premiere at the Bruin Theater in Los Angeles,
California on July 25, 1990 before being released in North America on
July 27, 1990. The film has an approval rating of 86% at Rotten
Tomatoes, which praised its directing, acting and writing. Presumed
Innocent grossed $221 million worldwide and became the
eighth-highest-grossing film of 1990. The film was followed by a
television miniseries, The Burden of Proof (1992), and a television film
sequel, Innocent (2011).
Plot
Rozat "Rusty" Sabich is a
prosecutor and the right-hand man of district attorney Raymond Horgan.
When his colleague, Carolyn Polhemus, is found raped and murdered in her
apartment, Raymond insists that Rusty take charge of the investigation.
With the election for District Attorney approaching, Tommy Molto, the
acting head of the homicide division, has left to join the rival
campaign of Nico Della Guardia. Rusty, a married man, faces a conflict
of interest since he had an affair with Carolyn. When he had shown
little ambition and would have therefore been of little use in advancing
her career, Carolyn abruptly dumped him. He has since reconciled with
his wife Barbara, but is still obsessed with Carolyn.
Detective Harold Greer is initially in charge of the murder
investigation, but Rusty has him replaced with his friend Detective Dan
Lipranzer, whom he persuades to narrow the inquiry so that his
relationship with Carolyn is left out. Rusty soon discovers that Molto
is making his own inquiries. Aspects of the crime suggest that the
killer knew police evidence-gathering procedures and covered up clues
accordingly. Semen found in the victim's body contains only dead sperm.
The killer's blood is Type A, the same as Rusty's. When Della Guardia
wins the election, he and Molto accuse Rusty of the murder and push to
get evidence against him. Rusty's fingerprints are found on a beer glass
from Carolyn's apartment, and fibers from his carpet at home match
those found on her body. Lipranzer is removed from the case, and Greer's
inquiries uncover the affair.
Raymond grows furious with Rusty's handling of the case, but expresses
that he had also been romantically involved with Carolyn at one time.
Rusty calls on Sandy Stern, a top defense attorney. At trial, it is
revealed that the beer glass is missing, and Stern persuades Judge
Larren Lyttle to keep this from the jury. Raymond testifies and perjures
himself, claiming that Rusty insisted on handling the investigation,
thus confirming the defense's claim of a frame-up. Rusty discovers that
Carolyn had acquired a file for a bribery case involving a man named
Leon Wells. Upon being confronted by Rusty and Lipranzer, Wells
confesses that he paid Carolyn to have criminal charges against him
dropped, and that the money went to Judge Lyttle.
The thrust of Stern's defense is that Della Guardia and Molto have
framed Rusty in order to cover up the bribery case. During the
cross-examination of the coroner, it is revealed that Carolyn had
undergone a tubal ligation, making it impossible for her to become
pregnant. She would have no reason to use the spermicidal contraceptive
which was found on her. Stern asserts that the only explanation for this
discrepancy is that the fluid sample was not actually taken from
Carolyn's body. Based on the disappearance of the beer glass, the lack
of motive and the fact that the fluid sample was rendered meaningless,
there is no direct evidence to tie Rusty to the murder; Judge Lyttle
dismisses the charges. Rusty confronts Stern for bringing up the bribery
file in the case. Stern admits that he and Raymond knew that Lyttle was
taking bribes. Although Lyttle had offered his resignation, Raymond
felt that he was a brilliant judge and deserved another chance.
Lipranzer reveals the beer glass to Rusty, explaining that he never
returned it to the evidence room after the case was turned over to Molto
and Della Guardia. Rusty throws the glass into the river.
At his home, Rusty discovers a small hatchet covered with Carolyn's
blood and hair on it. As he washes the tool, Barbara admits that she
murdered Carolyn, her motive being Rusty's adulterous affair. She
expresses that she had left enough evidence for Rusty to know that she
committed the crime, but did not anticipate him being charged with the
murder. In a voice-over, Rusty explains that Carolyn's murder has been
written off as unsolved, since trying two people for the same crime is
"a practical impossibility" and he cannot leave his son without a mother
even if she could be tried. Rusty regrets that it was his own lust that
caused his wife to commit murder.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presumed_Innocent_(film)