Deliberate Intent (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Andy Wolk

Writers (WGA):

Andy Wolk (written by) &
Lisa Mohan (written by)

Release Date:

6 August 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

The Law Is On Trial.

Plot:

A First Amendment scholar is recruited by an attorney to sue a publishing company after a hit man commits...

Plot Keywords:

First Amendment | Murder | Murder Of Family | Child Murder | Courtroom

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Timothy Hutton	...	Rod Smolla
Ron Rifkin	...	Howard Siegel
Clark Johnson	...	James Perry
Penny Johnson	...	Laura Harmon
Cliff De Young	...	Tom Kelley (as Clifford DeYoung)
Kenneth Welsh	...	Peder Lund
James McDaniel	...	Lawrence Horn
Bill McDonald	...	Peder Lund
Dean McDermott	...	Leasure
Yanna McIntosh	...	Elaine
David Hemblen	...	Judge Luttig
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Karen Andren	...	Tiffani
Yank Azman	...	Trial Judge
Christopher Barry	...	Butler
Oliver Becker	...	Agent Casey
Stephanie Belding	...	Forewoman (as Stephanie Zoe Belding)
John Bourgeois	...	Detective Gallon
Bernard Browne	...	Thomas Turner
Lauren Collins	...	Erin Smolla
Marcia Dixon	...	Law Student
David Ferry	...	Brandenburg
Alexandra Johnson	...	Tamielle
Kelly King	...	Millie
Jeffrey Knight	...	Editor
Cheryl MacInnis	...	Virginia
Diego Matamoros	...	John
Hedy McKenzie	...	Pauline
Gerry Quigley	...	Night Clerk
Tracy Shreve	...	Shira
Helen Taylor	...	Janice
Sugith Varughese	...	Forensic Detective
Angela Vint	...	Cindy
Nigel Shawn Williams	...	Judge Williams

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving violence, and a sexual reference.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Australia:M | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Detective looks through a phone record, points to a record which state abbreviation is MA and declares a payphone call was from Maryland. MA is the abbreviation for Massachusetts; MD is for Maryland.

Good Idea, Poor Execution.

After catching this flick on late night cable, I did not expect much at all. I was not mistaken. The film raises some interesting questions on free speech and the US first amendment as it follows the story of a lawyer suing a publisher, whose book is responsible for a triple murder. This is an interesting topic to look at in a film and makes you think about books, films and songs and how they can influence weak-minded individuals, and have done in the past. John Hinckley Jr. and "Taxi Driver" is one that springs to mind. However the actual delivering of this message suffers due to the plot. The director does not seem to be sure whether he wants to concentrate on the murders the court case or the main characters divorce and is the worse for it. It jumps around too much, has no character development and is decidedly flat. Good idea but could have been better.