Shadow of a Doubt (TV 1995)

Charlie Sloan is an alcoholic defence lawyer drawn back into the courtroom by Robin Harwell, a woman he once loved who wants him to defend her stepdaughter Angel, who is accused of murder. ... See full summary »

Director:

Brian Dennehy

Writers:

William J. Coughlin (novel), Brian Dennehy (teleplay),

Stars:

Brian Dennehy, Bonnie Bedelia, Fairuza Balk

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brian Dennehy	...	Charley Sloan
Bonnie Bedelia	...	Robin Harwell
Fairuza Balk	...	Angel Harwell
Mike Nussbaum	...	Nate Golden
Kevin Dunn	...	Mark Evola
Joe Grifasi	...	Sidney Sherman
Michael MacRae	...	Walter Figer (as Michael Macrae)
Ken Pogue	...	Judge Brown
Donnelly Rhodes	...	Williams
Brent Jennings	...	Little Mike
Bruce McGill	...	Dr. Fred Williams
Mavor Moore	...	Max Webster
Henry Beckman	...	Judge Mulhern
Don S. Davis	...	Kevin Carroll Sr.
Fulvio Cecere	...	Kevin Carroll Jr.

Storyline

Charlie Sloan is an alcoholic defence lawyer drawn back into the courtroom by Robin Harwell, a woman he once loved who wants him to defend her stepdaughter Angel, who is accused of murder. Sloan is out of his depth as his opponents mount a bitter campaign to portray him as a drunk and the trial becomes a media circus. Can Sloan justify Robin's faith in him?

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Plot Keywords:

directed by star | based on novel

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Sombra da Dúvida

Filming Locations:

British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hallmark Entertainment, Michele Brustin Productions, Scripps Howard Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Put out the fire, but don't go in the basement.

The script of "Shadow of a Doubt" is bad. Real bad. The dialogue has many inept points. The judge's lines are inappropriate and unrealistic. The DA is over the top and unbelievable. Scene after scene is right out of the cheapest, lowest quality pulp fiction. One of the lowest scenes is a retread of the old "death as an aphrodisiac" cliché. Then there's the shameless Alcoholics Anonymous propaganda. The origin of this is embarrassingly close to the life of director/star Brian Dennehy. At one point, his character references his time being sober as being virtually the exact same as Dennehy himself. Not that I have anything against the AA, but it just smacks of recent conversion fervor. Speaking of Brian Dennehy (who I like very much as an actor), he is not a good director. In fact, he has next to no ability to rein in his actors. He lets everyone wink at the audience and make cute little sideways comments to the camera. In effect, he invites everyone to overact as much as they care to.

So what's good about this film? Fairuza Balk is interesting. It's hard to say if her performance is uneven, or it's just the character. Either way, she's fun to watch. And the film is entertaining, albeit in an extremely lowbrow sort of way. I don't regret having seen it, but there isn't exactly anything to recommend here.