Presumed Innocent 1.3: Sterling Performances

I was struck by the sterling performance of just about every actor in Presumed Innocent 1.3 on Apple TV+.

[And here let me advise you not so much about spoilers, but that I saw the 1990s movie with Harrison Ford, and I'll try not to in any way indicate the ending of that, because I have no idea if this series will end the same way.]

Here are some of my favorite scenes in this episode:

• Every scene that  O-T Fagbenle as DA Della Guardia is in.  He has a strange, compelling presence that I've never quite seen before, which makes him instantly memorable.
• Noma Dumezweni as the tough-ass judge. Perfect
• The scene in which Rusty ( Jake Gyllenhaal) falls in love with Carolyn (Renate Reinsve), as she gently works to make a little girl who will be testifying feel safe 
• And, yeah, every scene with Bill Camp as Horgan, former DA and Rusty's attorney

But the truth is every character shines in this series, Rusty's wife and their children, the bartender at the beginning of the episode, Peter Sarsgaard as ADA Molto.  I can't recall another series in which every character was so vibrantly portrayed.

It occurred to me that Apple TV+ currently has two series -- Presumed Innocent and Dark Matter -- situated in Chicago.   The only thing missing from Presumed Innocent is maybe a scene with one of the Jasons in the background.

See also Presumed Innocent 1.1-1.2: Presumed Excellent, And So Far Is

See my reviews of Dark Matter

Presumed Innocent 1.1-1.2: Presumed Excellent, and So Far Is

I saw Presumed Innocent -- the movie with Harrison Ford in the lead role -- in 1990.  I shortly after read the Scott Turow 1987 novel from which the movie was adapted.  That was a long time ago, no blogging, and I was a devoted possessor of a Radio Shack M100.  I thought the movie and book were brilliant, with one of the cleverest endings, one of the most unexpected twists, I'd ever come across in a fictitious murder story.   I still feel that way right now.

So I was tempted not to see the series that just went up -- more precisely, the first two episodes -- on Apple TV+ yesterday.   But of course I did.  And as I was watching these episodes, I realized I had no idea if this new series would tell the same story as the novel and the movie.   And I realized that I didn't want to know beforehand, because not knowing that added its own level of suspense.

So far, if my memory from 23 years ago is ago is accurate, the story seems essentially the same.  Jake Gyllenhaal is excellent in the lead role -- Rusty Sabich, an ADA in Chicago, whose colleague and lover Carolyn Polhemus is found murdered.  Rusty is married, so he has some reason to want Carolyn eliminated -- to save his marriage.  

Movies and TV series of course are two very different media -- 120+ minutes vs. 8 episodes of around 50 minutes each to tell a story.  So I think there could be some riveting viewing ahead in the series.  Also, as of the first two episodes, I really liked Bill Camp, Peter Sarsgaard, and Renate Reinsve.  I'm going to review the series episode by episode, and I'll try my very best not to divulge any spoilers.

The Guilty: Scalding Tour de Force

My wife and I just The Guilty, a scalding tour de force of a movie on Netflix.  I'm not going to give away much if any of the plot, definitely not the crucial parts.  I will say that nothing quite seems like it is.  And you've got to stay with this movie til the end.

Here's what I can tell you: almost all of the movie occurs on the phone.  Other than Jake Gyllenhaal, who puts in what may be the performance of his career as Officer Joe Baylor, on 911 phone duty because he did something wrong in the street on his job, we see just a few other minor characters.  Otherwise, everyone else, including some very major characters, are voices on the phone.  This easily could have been a powerhouse play -- a play for the ages.  Just like the movie (based, according to IMDb, on a Danish movie).

Joe fields a variety of nuisance and crackpot calls.  And then gets a call from Emily, voiced by Riley Keough (The Girlfriend Experience and more).  We also get to hear from Abby (Emily's daughter), Henry (Emily's husband, voiced by Peter Sarsgaard), Rick (Joe's partner, voiced by Eli Goree who played Cassius Clay in One Night in Miami), Bill (Joe's boss, voiced by Ethan Hawke) and other notables.  But it's all pulled together -- and apart -- by Gyllenhaal's stunning performance, vaunting from exhausted sarcastic to high voltage shatter for a range of reasons.

Kudos to Antoine Fuqua for directing and Nic Pizzolatto for writing this unforettable package of narrative, Gyllenhaal on the screen, and other star power by voice.  I'm no particular friend of police on the edge, given what has been happening for multiple decades and is finally getting some long due attention.   But, well, see this movie and add it into your personal equation.