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

Details

Country:

USA Saudi Arabia

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 July 2009 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Más allá de la duda

Filming Locations:

Winnipeg, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$17,164, 13 September 2009, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$32,409, 27 September 2009

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

The garage scene contains far too many unbelievable sequences, such as pyrotechnics without any discernible cause and the weapon car stopping alongside the intended victim instead of simply turning into her.

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Goofs

When in the shop to buy a switch-blade, between 31:25 and 31:45, some shots show Corey Finley holding his bag with his left hand and some other shots show his left hand hanging down.

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Connections

References Frasier (1993)

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Soundtracks

Incidental Contact
Composed by Shawn Harris
Provided by RoyaltyFreeMusic.com

User Reviews

Subpar thriller that looks straight out of the 80s...

This movie is a remake but will be judged on its own merit, especially since I did not see the original.

On paper, things look good. You've got the seed of a promising story featuring several characters who could have been interesting, some courtroom drama which could have been intense, some plot twists which could have been shocking and a star lead actor in Michael Douglas who could have sold you this movie with his charisma.

But none of it ever happens. And much of the fault lies with Hyams' terribly outdated direction. While he used to direct somewhat interesting films several decades ago, Hyams has long since lost any edge he might have had and every weakness in his style which we readily forgave back in the 80s are now terribly grating when seen in a 2009 movie. The photography is downright boring, the music is cheesy, pacing and editing awful. Everything seems to come out of a made-for-TV or direct-to-video movie featuring Cheryl Ladd or some other has been.

Michael Douglas only has a few scenes and gives by far the best performance but that's not saying much in this present case, because everybody else is just terrible. Really awful. On top of that, several lines in the script are embarrassing, which makes the actors' job harder. Jesse Metcalfe and Amber Tamblyn are both the real co-leads of this flick and do absolutely nothing with their screen time. Orlando Jones is terribly miscast.

While the premise and basic sketch of the whole plot could have been interesting, neither the writers or the director made it believable. The twists along the way of the story might have been surprising for an average moviegoer in 1984. A quarter of a century later, even a lobotomized hamster will see it from a mile (provided you don't fall asleep before that).

There are so many negatives to this movie that usually it would be worth a 1. But I am raising it by one point for Michael Douglas giving a decent performance and by another point for the interesting seed of a story.

3/10 for the last movie by director Hyams I will ever watch