On July 24, the legal thriller «Presumed Innocent» starring Jake Gyllenhaal ended on Apple TV+. The plot is based on the novel of the same name by Scott Turow, which was published in August 1987. This is the second film adaptation of the novel after Alan Pakula’s feature film adaptation (1990), where Harrison Ford played the main role. In the review below, we will tell you what new things this miniseries offers in comparison to its predecessor, and what works and what doesn’t work for it.
Pluses:
a decent reinterpretation of the novel and the original film; good acting, especially from Gyllenhaal and Sarsgaard; over time, the series fully justifies its affiliation with a legal thriller; the ending may surprise;
Minuses:
the first half of the season is mostly spent on not particularly interesting things and, as a result, the slow pace of the narrative does not do it any good; the ending may seem questionable to some;
«Presumed Innocent»
Genre legal thriller, drama
Showrunner David E. Kelly
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Ruth Negga, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel, Peter Sarsgaard, Lily Rabe
Premiere Apple TV+
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb
Chicago Deputy District Attorney Rusty Sabich is assigned to investigate the brutal murder of his colleague Carolyn Polhemus, who was found beaten to death and bound in her home. But the case spirals out of control when Rusty himself becomes the sole and main suspect in the crime. Circumstantial evidence strongly points to the man’s involvement, and the case goes to trial, which will determine whether Sabich really succumbed to emotion and did something he will regret for the rest of his life.
American writer Scott Turow’s debut novel «Presumed Innocent» was published in 1987, and just three years later, a full-length film adaptation starring Harrison Ford appeared. That thriller was ultimately successful, receiving positive reviews from critics and a generous $221 million in box office receipts, which was ten times the film’s budget.
The creators of the newest film adaptation faced a difficult task, because the modern interpretation of both literary and cinematic material required a certain rethinking.
First of all, the Carolyn Polhemus of 2024 is a somewhat more complex character, one that is markedly different from the seductive blonde predecessor who climbed the career ladder through bed. Secondly, viewers familiar with the original source material or the first film adaptation are unlikely to be interested in a familiar denouement. And here we had to find an adequate script solution. To what extent it became such is an open question.
If one expects a tense legal thriller in the spirit of an Alan Pakula movie, many viewers will be disappointed in the early stages of watching the series. The catch is that almost the entire first part of the season is spent on the family troubles of the Sabich couple and their children. In other words, the legal thriller actually gives way to a family drama, which is not very exciting.
Here are a couple having long dialogues about how their teenage son will probably need a psychologist. Here they are at an appointment with a psychotherapist. Here is Rusty’s wife, Barbara, who loses her job because of her husband’s high-profile case and is forced to endure the judgmental stares of others. Here, a woman finds comfort in heart-to-heart conversations with a handsome bartender. Here, the editor sketches endless flashbacks of the passionate relationship between the protagonist and the murdered woman. And here, different characters have bizarre dreams, one of which is about a head explosion, as if it had crawled out of a satirical «The Boys».
Given the overwhelming amount of these agonizing tosses and turns, a fair question eventually arises: When will the plot get to the heart of the matter? When will the thing we gathered around the screens for begin? When the hell will it finally get interesting? And, to the credit of experienced showrunner David E. Kelly, who has worked on several crime or courtroom shows («L.A. Law», «Big Little Lies», «Playback», «Love and Death»), it really gets interesting.
«Presumed Innocent» really blossoms when the action moves from Rusty Sabich psychologist’s office or shower room to the courtroom: here the series really justifies its primary genre, and in such a way that it is almost impossible to tear yourself away from the screen.
The arguments of both sides look convincing to one degree or another. Passions run high, and the tension at some point reaches its peak. At the same time, there are plenty of characters who can be included in your personal circle of suspects. These guesses can be supported by visual metaphors that suggest that almost everyone has something to hide (including, and above all, Rusty himself, whose dual nature will be emphasized to us more than once).
Even Chicago itself, over whose skyscrapers the camera will make many beautiful turns, turns not so much into a participant in the events as into an unfortunate place that significantly affects everyone involved. There is no room for happiness here. Horrible massacres are constantly taking place here (as one of the characters says). There is a kind of viscous, completely pessimistic atmosphere here, emphasized by the deliberately discolored frame. The idea that the courtroom is not always about justice, but often about politics or even some kind of selfish motives is also evident.
Jake Gyllenhaal’s sincere, pained gaze tries his best to prove to the jury, and the audience, that he is innocent. After a somewhat straightforward role in the recent «Road House» the actor again plays with his face, not his muscles, and in this role he is also very convincing.
Peter Sarsgaard gave a great performance, and his character is not very nice, but he’s definitely not a villain. By the way, Sarsgaard is married to Gyllenhaal’s older sister Maggie, also an actress you might have seen in Christopher Nolan’s «The Dark Knight», so the relatives were essentially antagonizing each other in the film.
«Presumed Innocent» spends too much time on family relationships and the characters’ mental anguish, which may scare off the part of the audience that was hoping for a thriller with detective intrigue. But in the second half of the season, the show delivers exactly what it was supposed to, so in this case, the most patient will be rewarded.
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