Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)

Remake of the 1956 film noir film "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" in which a writer's plan to expose a corrupt district attorney takes an unexpected turn.

Director:

Peter Hyams

Writers:

Peter Hyams (screenplay), Douglas Morrow

Stars:

Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jesse Metcalfe	...	C.J. Nicholas
Amber Tamblyn	...	Ella Crystal
Michael Douglas	...	Mark Hunter
Joel David Moore	...	Corey Finley
Orlando Jones	...	Ben Nickerson
Lawrence P. Beron	...	Lieutenant Merchant (as Lawrence Beron)
Sewell Whitney	...	Martin Weldon
David Jensen	...	Gary Spota
Sharon K. London	...	Judge Sheppard (as Sharon London)
Krystal Kofie	...	Taieesha
Randal Reeder	...	Survivalist Man (as Randel Reeder)
Ryan Glorioso	...	Animal Shelter Attendant
Jon McCarthy	...	Detective Rawley
Grant James	...	Aaron Wakefield
Eric Gipson	...	Allen

Storyline

High profile lawyer Mark Hunter has an impeccable record putting criminals behind bars and is a shoe-in for governor in the upcoming election. But when ambitious rookie journalist, C.J. Nicholas begins investigating Hunter for tampering with evidence to secure his convictions, the district attorney's perfect record is up for scrutiny. Commencing a risky game of cat and mouse with Hunter, C.J. frames himself as a murder suspect to catch the corrupt D.A. in the act. Romantically involved with C.J. but unaware of his assignment, assistant D.A. Ella Crystal becomes caught between her boss's political ambitions and C.J.'s dangerous expose. As mounting evidence stacks up against both men, Ella's own life becomes threatened when she discovers incriminating proof that puts the fate of both C.J's innocence and Hunter's reputation in her hands.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to wal mart | strong female | female protagonist | ticket | doubt | 

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Taglines:

Why would a man frame himself... for murder?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for a sex scene, violence and brief strong language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was supposed to get a wide release, but ultimately ended up as limited release in 5 theaters.

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Goofs

When C.J. and Finley are visiting the animal shelter, they ask the attendant who gives them the dog to pose for their video with a newspaper in his hand. As they are about to leave the animal shelter the attendant gives the newspaper back to C.J. In the next shot, although C.J. had taken the newspaper out of the attendant's hands already in the shot before, the newspaper is back in the hands of the attendant who then gives it to C.J. once again.

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Quotes

Animal Shelter Attendant: Are you looking for a pacific type of dog?
C.J. Nicholas: A Jack Russell terrier.
Corey Finley: Like the kind in Mask or Frasier.
Animal Shelter Attendant: Yeah, I think I know what a Jack Russell terrier is. Thank you. Uh, we have one that's mostly Jack Russell. He's-
[points]
Animal Shelter Attendant: he's out there.

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Connections

Remake of Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

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Soundtracks

Mallorca
Composed by Jonathan Adams
Provided by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com

User Reviews

Unconvincing and full of clichés

A very unconvincing cast, including Douglas, delivers an extremely implausible story packed with clichés, with poor cinematography and old-fashioned music. I am usually OK with implausible stories and the original movie is probably good... but for heaven's sake, if you are going to do a remake, at least try to make it feel like the 21st century. The only thing the movie had going for it was a fairly good dialog (probably derived from the original manuscript to Fritz Langs original from 1956), but the lead actor and actress did a pretty poor job delivering them. I almost feel sorry for Douglas, remembering him in excellent movies like Fatal Attraction, Traffic and Falling Down, having to tarnish his good name with movies like this. I cannot for the life of me understand why he agreed to participate in such a B movie. Maybe he needed money (?) or maybe he cannot bear not being in the spotlight, but even so, he should try to make a reasonable effort. This was not up to his usual standards.

Details

Country:

USA Saudi Arabia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 2009 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

Filming Locations:

Winnipeg, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,177, 13 September 2009

Gross USA:

$32,917

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,515,258

Company Credits

Production Co:

Autonomous Films, Foresight Unlimited, Government of Saudi Arabia

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1