Cast: Rebecca DeMornay, Don Johnson, Jack Warden, Stephen Lang
Director: Sidney Lumet
Producer: Martin Ransohoff
Screenplay: Larry Cohen
Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Music: Howard Shore
U.S. Distributor: Hollywood Pictures
David Greenhill (Don Johnson) is about to go on trial for the murder of his rich socialite wife. To prepare his defense, he solicits one of the best young female lawyers in the country, Jennifer Haines (Rebecca DeMornay). After an initial bout of reluctance, Jennifer decides to take the case -- she realizes that David is a womanizer and manipulator, but she believes him to be innocent ("People who are guilty are rarely this blunt", she confesses), and sees his case as a challenge. However, from the moment she accepts him as a client, she finds herself in too deep, as David, obviously not possessing the most stable of personalities, begins to toy with her sanity.
Trials and questions of guilt are nothing new, but Guilty as Sin offers a few twists to the traditional courtroom thriller. Limited though it is, the strength of this picture is the cat-and-mouse game played by Jennifer and David as they manipulate circumstances, people, and each other. Parts of the overplotted story are actually fun to watch. That's what makes the ending such a colossal disappointment.
While the wrap-up of Guilty as Sin is by far the film's most grievous fault, it's not the only weakness. Some of the dialogue could have used a re-write. Unintentionally funny lines abound -- not a good sign for a movie trying to develop tension. We laugh at this movie a little too frequently.
Rebecca DeMornay is inconsistent. Offsetting scenes where she does an excellent job are those where she's stilted and unconvincing. She's at her best displaying cool, ruthless intelligence and at her worst attempting to give the impression of vulnerability. Don Johnson, on the other hand, is wildly charismatic as David Greenhill. He plays the role to the hilt, overacting shamelessly.
Guilty as Sin will not win any awards for realism, but as shameless exploitation fare, it's adequate, and might have been better than that had the screenwriter come up with a moderately intelligent ending. It's amazing how a few ill-conceived pages of script can torpedo what otherwise might have been a shallow-but-enjoyable thriller.
© 1993, 1996 James Berardinelli