Benefit of the Doubt (1993)

A convicted wife murderer returns 22 year later to seek revenge on the daughter who help convict him.

Director:

Jonathan Heap

Writers:

Michael Lieber (story), Jeffrey Polman (screenplay),

Stars:

Donald Sutherland, Amy Irving, Rider Strong

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Sutherland	...	Frank
Amy Irving	...	Karen Braswell
Rider Strong	...	Pete Braswell
Christopher McDonald	...	Dan
Graham Greene	...	Calhoun
Theodore Bikel	...	Gideon Lee
Gisele Kovach	...	Suzanna
Ferdy Mayne	...	Mueller
Julie Hasel	...	Young Karen
Patricia Tallman	...	Karen's Mother
Ralph McTurk	...	Trooper
Shane McCabe	...	Wayland
Margaret Johnson	...	Waitress
Heinrich James	...	Marina Guard
Jean Fowler	...	Examiner

Storyline

Twenty two years earlier, Karen helped convict her father, Frank, for the murder of her mother. With his new freedom, thanks to parole, Frank returns home to seek revenge. Having always pleaded his innocence, Frank soon works his way back into Karen's life.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | murder | desert | incest | chase | 

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Taglines:

A terrifying story of fatherly love.

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 July 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beneficio del dubbio

Filming Locations:

Camp Verde, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$151,860 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Benefit Productions, Cinevox Filmproduktion GmbH, Monument Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Frank: [Smugly as his grandson holds a gun on him] You won't do it

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood vs. Religion (1994)

User Reviews

better than some think

Contemporary thrillers tend to get relatively poor reviews. These films are held to what I think is an unreasonably high standard. Admittedly, a genuinely good thriller is very hard to find these days. It's about the writing mainly. The story counts a lot, as does the suitability of the actors to this genre. It seems that the glorification of multimillion dollar production values, meaning mainly special effects, has become more important to the industry than good writing and characterizations. For whatever reason, movies like The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (original), Charley Varick, and The Getaway (the original) are a thing of the past. (Then again, there's the very good The Lincoln Lawyer.)

Nowadays, all one can expect is the more or less artful use of derivative material. Standards, therefore, should change. Don't expect another Charley Varick. Benefit of the Doubt should satisfy those looking for a reasonably plausible story, well executed tension and of course a first rate villain. This movie delivers on all those fronts. Sure, characters sometimes behave unrealistically, but realism and plausibility are inessential to thrillers. Recall Hitchcock's accurate denigration of "the plausibles", i.e. those who undermine a thriller because of implausible elements. - Donald Sutherland gives us a masterfully characterized bad guy, yet another testimony to this fine actor's beautifully honed thespian chops. The movie did for me what an acceptable thriller should do: keep me interested and provide some genuine suspense. This film is nothing more and nothing less than a better than good enough popcorn movie.