Sidney Lumet directed this Larry Cohen-scripted courtroom procedural that owes more than it should to Jagged Edge.
Jennifer Haines (Rebecca De Mornay), one of the top female lawyers in the country and flush from the success of defending a gangster, has a new client to defend. A suave ladies man in an Armani suit, David Greenhill (Don Johnson) has come to solicit Jennifer's services.
It seems that his rich socialite wife has been pushed to her death through an open window, and David stands to inherit a very large fortune. Needless to say, David is a prime suspect in his wife's murder.
David admits to Jennifer the he is a womanizer and an oily manipulator, but nevertheless Jennifer decides to take his case as a challenge -- as she puts it: People who are guilty are rarely this blunt.
The result is an intricate chess game between Jennifer and David as they manipulate events, other people, and each other in order to determine the guilt or innocence of the playboy widower.
Director: | Sidney Lumet |