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HIGH CRIMES
Review by Gordon Justesen
Stars: Ashley Judd,
Morgan Freeman, Jim Caviezel, Amanda Peet, Tom Bower
Director: Carl Franklin
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Surround, Spanish Dolby Surround
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35:1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Features: See Review
Length: 115 Minutes
Release Date: August 27, 2002
“Military
justice is to justice just as military music is to music, Mrs. Kubik. Wake up
and smell the napalm.”
Is the military court system a completely different set of
rules from our normal civilian justice system? High Crimes is a thriller in which the central characters are very
much provoked to ponder that question.
This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced a behind
the scenes look at the maneuvering of military court martial. Movies such as A
Few Good Men and Rules of Engagement have interwoven tales of suspense built around
soldiers on trial for going beyond the call of duty. High Crimes brings the mystery closer to home, at least for its lead
character, Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd). Kubik is a successful attorney who
happens to have a much privileged marriage to Tom (Jim Caviezel), an ex military
operative. All of their happiness is put on a sudden hold when the FBI arrests
Tom while he and Claire are enjoying a night on the town.
More shocking for Claire to discover is that her
husband’s name isn’t his real name, as it was used simply as a cover. Tom,
who is now revealed as that of Ron Chapman, is ordered to stand trial for
accusations of executing much deadly force against innocent civilians in a Latin
American village during his tour of duty. Believing her husband’s innocence
and desperate to save him from the death penalty, Claire will no doubt agree to
defend him, but she’ll need some help from someone who knows their way around
military justice. She discovers that element in Charlie Grimes (Morgan Freeman),
a veteran lawyer schooled in military trials enough to help Claire out. The only
problem is, Grimes has spent the last couple of years trying to sober up after
succumbing to alcoholism.
During the course of the trial and the investigation, we
get several flashbacks from key witnesses of the village massacre, much like in Courage
Under Fire, and while this movie is nowhere near the level of that
masterpiece, I did admire the way director Carl Franklin set up these crucial
sequences. Tom strongly feels he was no doubt set up by an army superior, played
in a brief appearance by Bruce Davison. It also remains unclear as if the
military wants simple justice or is willing to go through with a cover-up.
The primary strength in High
Crimes is in the performances, particularly in that of the two leads. Ashley
Judd and Morgan Freeman return to the screen once again following their success
with the 1997 thriller Kiss the Girls,
a movie that I didn’t really care for but did have affection on the chemistry
of the two actors. Here, they shine once again. Let’s face it, being a guy,
you simply can’t help but feel like you’re in heaven when looking at Ms.
Judd, and watching her play a strong character with loads of smarts qualifies as
an even more solid treat. Then there’s the brilliant Morgan Freeman, who once
again creates a character all his own, highlighted by his riveting and memorable
acting chops. True, Mr. Freeman shares a supporting credit, but if he was just
supplying a cameo, I’d still pay to see the movie. The movie also gets some
good supporting work from Jim Caviezel, who’s on the road to stardom with both
this and The Count of Monte Cristo
under his belt, and Amanda Peet shines once again in the role of Claire’s
hot-wired younger sister.
High Crimes does succeed on every level that is required of a basic Hollywood studio thriller. It pulls you in countless directions, before throwing you into a much unexpected detour of an ending. Credit Judd and Freeman for delivering skillful, accomplished performances, as well as the sharp directing job of Carl Franklin, who also made the hugely underrated Denzel Washington pic, Devil in a Blue Dress.
Video ****
Yet another video triumph for the peeps at Fox, who are always on top of their game when it comes to theater-quality presentations. The anamorphic video job on High Crimes is as superb and stunning as any transfer you’ve come to expect from Fox. Image is consistently flawless with a capital F, including endless crisp and sharp picture resolution complete with wonderful accompanying vibrant colors. In short, a usual remarkable job from the one studio who is always top of my list when it comes to picture-perfect DVD quality.
Audio ***
Despite being a suspense thriller, a good bit of High
Crimes is dialogue oriented, so therefore Fox has done pretty much the best
job one could do to such a movie in terms of audio. The .1 channel is deadest
in all fields, whether it’s dialogue delivery, occasional music score cues, or
even an occasional action sequence, which there aren’t many. All in all, a
downright perfect audio track that delivers the goods when required.
Features ***
Fox seldom leaves a disc empty handed as far as extras go, and High Crimes gets just the right amount to give it a plus. Featured is a running commentary by director Carl Franklin, as well as six very well constructed featurettes, including one about human polygraph testing and one involving differences between military law and civilian law, both of which go beyond the movie. A trailer for the movie is included as well.
Summary:
