MANILA, Philippines--Michael Douglas usually plays the good guy in his big-screen starrers, but he opts to go for a darker character in his latest headliner, “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt.” In the process, he risks being upstaged by the crime thriller’s younger leads, but he’s able to tilt the thespic experiment in his favor—especially when it becomes clear that the movie’s plot and theme are not what they initially seem to be.
In “Beyond A Reasonable Doubt,” Douglas plays a high-profile District Attorney with standout victories in the courtroom that have made him a hot prospect for governor in the coming elections.
Rise to the top
The D.A. is such an outstanding political comer that he can’t allow anything to get in the way of his spectacular rise to the top. So, he does everything he can to counter a young broadcast journalist’s accusation that he doctored DNA data to enable him to win an impressive number of high-profile murder cases.
Despite his cunning and legal brilliance, Douglas’ character has his work cut out for him in countering the crusading reporter’s accusations, because the broadcast journalist (Jesse Metcalf) has cleverly faked “evidence” to link him to the latest murder being investigated by Douglas’ cop-cohorts.
So, the film soon shapes up as a battle of wits and egos between the veteran district attorney and the younger reporter. As the legal and psychological action heats up, viewers have to act as both judge and jury to determine the protracted legal tussle’s final outcome.
If the reporter is telling the truth, the D.A.’s goose is indeed cooked. But, if it’s the reporter who’s lying, the drama becomes even more complicated, because additional questions related to motive have to be addressed.
Interest
True enough, even more “doubts” present themselves before the case is adjudicated, thus underscoring the movie’s thematic interest in the baffling permutations of truth, lies and the occasionally confounding spaces in between.
Yes, Douglas’ character is suspect, but before the film’s conclusion, other characters are also subjected to rigorous moral and ethical assault, the better for viewers to arrive at a more judicious appreciation of truth in human relationships, both in and out of the courtroom.
Private lives
The problem with many legal dramas is their tendency to end up as set pieces, with one predictable scene stolidly following another. “Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” tries to address this problem by opening up its drama to include many scenes outside the courtroom and inside key characters’ private lives. In addition, the film provides interesting information about how digital information can be subtly altered and compromised by criminal minds.
The drama gets even more personal when the district attorney’s young assistant (Amber Tamblyn) is made to fall in love with the reporter, and eventually has to stand up to her superior to save her lover’s life. This does get to be rather melodramatic, but other twists and turns deepen the drama as they clash and converge—and save the day.
