Release Date:
04/05/2002
Is it just us, or are you also willing to sit through pretty much anything with Morgan Freeman in it? He could play a pedophilic Catholic priest who murders puppies as a hobby and you’d still like the actor. That probably explains why, when you look at his résumé, he hasn’t had a great deal of variety to speak of. Whether he’s a lawyer, an inmate, or a cop, he’s always Morgan—trustworthy, honest, and there for you. In High Crimes, he re-teams with Kiss the Girls co-star Ashley Judd as, you guessed it, a trustworthy and honest (if alcoholic) lawyer.
High Crimes might not be high art (oh, cursed criticism!), but it is entertaining. Judd and Freeman have an easy chemistry, and Ashley is a far better actress than her track record would seem to indicate. Smart and believable even when circumstances around her strain credibility, she keeps you at least interested during the movie’s frequent miscues (the most glaring of which is the ending). Taking a page from A Few Good Men by bringing the ambiguity of military ethics to a murder trial, High Crimes uses red herrings and plot twists aplenty to string you along. Sadly, it ends up with more questions than answers, not least of which is, Why, no matter what the situation, does Jim Caviezel look in dire need of a shower? Throw in a from-left-field performance by Amanda Peet as Judd’s ditzy hippie-chick sister, and you end up with a watchable, if not plausible, flick.
High Crimes might not be high art (oh, cursed criticism!), but it is entertaining. Judd and Freeman have an easy chemistry, and Ashley is a far better actress than her track record would seem to indicate. Smart and believable even when circumstances around her strain credibility, she keeps you at least interested during the movie’s frequent miscues (the most glaring of which is the ending). Taking a page from A Few Good Men by bringing the ambiguity of military ethics to a murder trial, High Crimes uses red herrings and plot twists aplenty to string you along. Sadly, it ends up with more questions than answers, not least of which is, Why, no matter what the situation, does Jim Caviezel look in dire need of a shower? Throw in a from-left-field performance by Amanda Peet as Judd’s ditzy hippie-chick sister, and you end up with a watchable, if not plausible, flick.