Il corpo del reato

I picked this one for the Courtroom Drama aspect. It's only okay, though. Thought I had it pegged from the beginning but was wrong and when you get to the ending...you're like, eh. Couldn't be more average.

Originally intended to be the sequel to "Jagged Edge", the Burt Reynolds vehicle "Physical Evidence" is just barely adequate. The veteran star, and noted author / occasional filmmaker Michael Crichton, seem to be just going through the motions. A very routine and forgettable picture, it's clumsily written, boringly handled, and saved to a degree by a solid supporting cast.

Burt plays Joe Paris, a detective with a nasty temper who's currently on suspension. He makes a plausible suspect when a notorious sleazy criminal turns up dead, and it's up to the crusading public defender Jenny Hudson (Theresa Russell) to clear his name.

Russell tries hard, and does look absolutely great, but she is indeed simply miscast in her role. Burt looks like he can't wait to leave the set and cash his paycheck. Burts' frequent co- star Ned Beatty has a welcome presence as the district attorney who is sure that the case is a slam dunk for him. Kay Lenz is also lovely as always, and appealing, as a mobsters' wife. Ted McGinley is appropriately odious as Jenny's smarmy yuppie boyfriend. Tom O'Brien is a convincing jerk as the obnoxious lowlife son of the murder victim. Kenneth Welsh is excellent as always as a snooty crime kingpin. And Ray Baker does what he can with an underwritten role as a cop.

Somewhat slick, but too predictable, and too silly, to really work all that well.

Filmed in Toronto and Boston.

Five out of 10.

RETRO REWIND: Physical Evidence (1989)

"A slow-burn thriller soaked in shadows, smirks, and suspicion."

Physical Evidence flips that image on its head. Here, Reynolds trades in the smirk for a scowl and gives us a performance that's weary, wounded, and wonderfully understated.

Directed by Michael Crichton (before his Jurassic days), the film plunges us into a moody, Boston-set crime story where justice is murky, and truth hides in the shadows. Reynolds plays Joe Paris, a disgraced ex-cop accused of murder, worn down by the world and dangerously close to giving up. Enter Theresa Russell as Jenny Hudson, a sharp, no-nonsense public defender who's as skeptical as she is savvy. What unfolds is a taut, character-driven mystery that refuses to play by Hollywood's louder rules.

Russells acting is wooden to start and can be jarring but seems she seems to get into the flow mid-way.

There's no flashy courtroom grandstanding here-just quiet tension, doubt. The relationship between Paris and Hudson is refreshingly raw: professional, combative, and grounded in real stakes. No shoehorned romance. Just two people fighting a system that doesn't care whether they like each other or not.

Visually, Physical Evidence is drenched in noir stylings. Rain lashes against dim streetlights. Office windows blur with cigarette smoke. Everything feels like it's two shades darker than it should be-which is exactly right. Boston becomes a character in its own right: cold, corrupt, and cagey.

So Why Dig It Up Now?

Because this is the kind of thriller they just don't make anymore. It's a film built on mood, performance, and slow-drip suspense. Reynolds shows us what he's capable of when he sheds the polish and leans into the grit. Russell matches him beat for beat, and Crichton reminds us that before he unleashed dinosaurs, he knew how to build real-world tension just fine.

A forgotten legal noir that trades flash for substance and gives us a Reynolds we didn't know we needed. Moody, mature, and surprisingly memorable.

Author Michael Crichton directed this crime mystery starring Burt Reynolds as suspended policeman Joe Paris, who is suspected of murdering an extortionist. With no alibi or money, Joe must use the services of public defender Jenny Hudson(played by Theresa Russell) who has her work cut out for her, since, even though the murdered man had many enemies, so does Joe, making her investigation difficult. Can she save Joe, and not fall in love with him too? Forgettable film was originally conceived as a sequel to "Jagged Edge". When that fell through, it was rewritten to its present form. Indifferently acted and utterly predictable film has little to recommend it.

Michael Crichton directed this flighty, flimsy cop-show starring Burt Reynolds as an officer framed for murder. Crichton, who did not pen the script, seems a curious choice to helm such second-rate material, but he makes something enjoyable out of it--even though one is inclined to scoff at the plotting and outrageous incidents in place of laughing (I did both). Laid-back Burt is positively enervated, yet he actually does the picture a favor by playing it so low-keyed (Crichton's general handling is outré enough). Completely outlandish, though it contains some surprising bits of humor and an odd little nasty streak which is intriguing. It's a guilty pleasure, with Crichton chortling in the background. ** from ****