★ 7 / 10
Sharp film, serrated ending. Teddy Barnes is a
John Chard
Sharp film, serrated ending. Teddy Barnes is a conflicted lawyer, still reeling from the dubious methods of a colleague, she takes on the defence of Jack…
Sharp film, serrated ending.
Teddy Barnes is a conflicted lawyer, still reeling from the dubious methods of a colleague, she takes on the defence of Jack Forrester, who is accused of murdering his wife with a jagged edged knife. Gradually falling for Jack's seductive powers, Teddy falls in love with the man she now has to defend, her problems it seems, are about to become far far worse.
Jagged Edge, directed by Richard Marquand, starring Glenn Close (Teddy), Jeff Bridges (Jack), Robert Loggia (Sam Ransom) and Peter Coyote (Thomas Krasny), is bringing nothing new to the table of a much replicated genre. It does however boast brilliant acting, a tremendous screenplay (Joe Eszterhas) and a production value that demands it be viewed with less than cynical eyes. That it is written by Eszterhas is obvious when looking at the structure of the picture, death, sex, troubled romance, greed and that old devil called obsession (Basic Instinct anyone?), yet aided by a competent director and an exemplary cast, Jagged Edge shines brighter than most other films of its ilk.
It looks a little frayed (not jagged) around the edges now, but that is purely because of the advent of time and the ream of thrillers using this format that have followed this piece. If one (such as I) can transport oneself back to the 80s and view Jagged Edge on its original terms, then its easy to recognise just what a well put together picture it is. Close and Bridges are superb, whilst Robert Loggia steals the picture from under their noses, his interplay with Close is a particular highlight. In spite of some less than great twists and unsubtle scapegoat placings, Jagged Edge succeeds because you are there at the finale, and because its held you in its grip all along, you (hopefully) have invested yourself with these characters, you simply just have to know, for better or worse!
The ending was cause for much discussion back in the day, and viewing it now it still feels like a moment of cheek mixed in with some form of clarity, but rest assured it works well, as does, funnily enough, the whole film. No world beater here, but highly accomplished and worth the time of any thriller obsessed movie fan. 7/10
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★ 8 / 10
Murder, Conflict & Contradictions
seymourblack-1
"Jagged Edge" is a well written and extremely entertaining psychological thriller which unsurprisingly was also a major box office success. Essentially, it's a…
"Jagged Edge" is a well written and extremely entertaining psychological thriller which unsurprisingly was also a major box office success. Essentially, it's a murder mystery which features some interesting characters, numerous unexpected developments and some great performances from an exceptionally talented group of actors. Director Richard Marquand is very effective in creating many moments of tension especially during the courtroom scenes and the whole drama keeps the audience in suspense and in a state of uncertainty about the defendant's innocence or guilt throughout the whole movie.
After wealthy socialite Page Forrester (Maria Mayenzet) and her maid are savagely murdered and Jack Forrester's (Jeff Bridges) injuries require hospital treatment, D.A. Thomas Krasny (Peter Coyote) visits the crime scene and rapidly decides that Jack (who is the sole beneficiary of Page's considerable estate) must be the murderer. Jack is the very successful editor of a top newspaper which was owned and controlled by Page.
Jack is subsequently arrested and charged with murder and seeks help for his defence from the firm of corporate attorneys with whom he has a longstanding relationship. One of their number is Teddy Barnes (Glenn Close) who is an ex-criminal lawyer who had a great track record but gave up that field of her profession because she became very uncomfortable about the unethical conduct of her colleague in the D.A.'s office (the aforementioned Thomas Krasny). She agrees to take on Jack's defence but only after a great deal of persuasion from both Jack and senior members of her firm who offer a partnership as an added inducement.
Teddy's decision then leads her into a surprising series of events which begin with her becoming Jack's lover and continue with her having to deal with a number of incidents which prove to be very challenging both professionally and emotionally before she finally gets an opportunity to publicly expose Krasny's grossly unprofessional conduct after the case reaches its conclusion.
Teddy experiences a considerable amount of conflict which starts when Jack and her firm want her to take on the case against her wishes and continues as her commitment to the case and her relationship with Jack cause conflict to develop within her own family. Her conflict with Krasny during the case is also profound because of matters that arise in the case but also because she's regarded him with utter contempt for such a long time.
Teddy and Jack are also both full of contradictions. She gave up criminal law because she was appalled by Krasny's unethical practices and yet she gets embroiled in a relationship with her client which is extremely unethical and unprofessional. She also experiences contradictory feelings about Jack's possible innocence or guilt and Jack continuously gives out contradictory impressions about himself by his various expressions and actions. The whole issue of contradictions also becomes a strong feature of the clues, the evidence and the story developments which continue to be seen as the action proceeds.
Thomas Krasny is politically ambitious and in the past had withheld evidence which would have proved the innocence of a man who later committed suicide in prison.
The characters in "Jagged Edge" are often idiosyncratic but never dull and the performances by Jeff Bridges, Glenn Close, Peter Coyote and Robert Loggia (in a wonderful supporting role) are very impressive throughout.
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Thanks, Freeman! More of Jeff Bridges, please. upload Kasoor (2001).