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"'Double'
Take"
by Scott Mantz
"Double Jeopardy"
Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones
Directed by Bruce Beresford
Ok, here's the
pitch. Our main protagonist is framed for a murder she didn't commit.
After serving jail time, she gets out and is obsessed with setting
the record straight and clearing her name. As she embarks on her
mission, we'll need somebody with a commanding screen presence--oh,
let's say a Tommy-Lee-Jones-type--to catch her and bring her in.
Oh, waitaminute.
That does sound familiar. You're right. It was done before back
in 1993 with "The Fugitive", which--surprise, surprise--co-starred
Tommy Lee Jones. With a too-similar premise and a trailer that showed
just a little too much, you can pretty much guess where this story
is going, right? Well, not exactly. A decent performance from Ashley
Judd and some nifty plot twists make the suspenseful "Double Jeopardy"
a fun watch, but that's about all it is.
Libby Parsons
(Ashley Judd) is living the good life with her rich husband Nick
(Peter Greenwood) and adorable son. She's got it all, that is, until
she wakes up on a boat to find herself covered in what appears to
be her husband's blood. She's literally caught with the knife in
her hand, and all the evidence points to her guilt. During her 6
year prison term, she discovers that, holy moly, Nick faked his
death to dodge embezzlement charges. What's a girl to do? A fellow
jailbird, who used to be an attorney (how convenient), informs her
about the "double jeopardy" clause, which states that you can't
be tried for the same crime twice. She plots her revenge, and upon
her release is put in the custody of a parole officer (Tommy Lee
Jones). Libby skips bail to find Nick and get her son back, and
it's up to him to bring her in.
There's just
one minor problem with which the premise for the entire movie hinges,
which is you cannot be tried for the same crime twice. According
to attorney Alan Dershowitz, you can be tried twice if the crimes
take place in different locales. Ah, the heck with that minor tidbit!
Let's just enjoy the film!
It's a little
ironic that Jones gets top billing over Judd. She's in every scene,
and he doesn't appear until almost 40 minutes into the film. In
her biggest role to date, Judd puts in a convincing performance
as the scorned woman who just wants her son back. She may be obsessed,
but she's not crazy. Thankfully, we're able to stay with her and
root for her as she obtains what is rightfully hers.
Jones is the
real mystery here. He may be playing a down-on-his-luck parole officer,
but all we're seeing is a toned down version of his Academy Award-winning
role from "The Fugitive". Jones, having suffered the loss of his
own daughter, shares Judd's grief for her son. Instead of looking
deeper into that, we're seeing the same slick "just-missed-her"
pursuit that we've seen before. Peter Greenwood gets high marks
for jumping from the loving sweetie-pie to the corrupt loser he
turns out to be.
It feels like
there's just not enough energy to support the film. In the finale,
Libby should be furious when she confronts Nick, but she remains
a little too calm. The payoff is not strong and doesn't justify
the buildup. Minor plot twists keep the film fresh, but not fresh
enough to feel the jeopardy of our heroine.
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