Double Jeopardy (1999)

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers (WGA):

David Weisberg (written by) &
Douglas Cook (written by)

Release Date:

24 September 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Drama | Mystery | Crime

Tagline:

Murder isn't always a crime.

Plot:

A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Parole Officer | Car In Water | Ferry | Beneficiary

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Travis
Ashley Judd	...	Libby
Benjamin Weir	...	Matty - Age 4
Jay Brazeau	...	Bobby
Bruce Greenwood	...	Nick
John Maclaren	...	Rudy (as John MacLaren)
Ed Evanko	...	Warren (as Edward Evanko)
Annabeth Gish	...	Angie
Bruce Campbell	...	Bartender At Party
Brennan Elliott	...	Yuppie Man
Angela Schneider	...	Yuppie Girl
Michael Gaston	...	Cutter
Gillian Barber	...	Rebecca Tingely
Tom McBeath	...	Coast Guard Officer
David Jacox	...	Deputy Ben

Also Known As:

Doppelmord (Germany)
Double condamnation (Canada: French title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, a scene of sexuality and some violence.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

Germany | Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (NO. 34724) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Philippines:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bowen Island, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

According to director Bruce Beresford, Robert Benton did an uncredited ten day re-write shortly before production began.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Pay phones in prison do not take coins.

Quotes:

Margaret Skolowski: So you just repeat after me, "If I could trade places with my husband, I would."
[after making a sighing noise and very unenthusiastically]
Elizabeth 'Libby' Parsons: If I could trade places with my husband, I would.
Evelyn Lake: That's good. Now, throw in a lot of that born again Jesus stuff... they like that

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Corneil et Bernie: Double Jeopardy (#1.18)" (????)

Soundtrack:

Amazing Grace

Fairly uninspiring film all told

Elizabeth Parsons has a rich husband and a young son. When she wakes up on their luxury yacht with blood everywhere and her husband nowhere to be found, she is suspected of his murder to get the life insurance. While serving 6 years, she discovers that her husband is very much alive. She learns that she can't be tried for his murder since she already has been, and begins to plan his death and how to get her husband back.

Despite that fact that the whole film is summed up in the title I decided to watch it anyway. So really there is very little drama for much of the film as we all know what she's doing and where the film is going. The plot could have been lifted from any number of video thrillers - all it needed was a little nudity and it could have been an erotic thriller for late night TV! As it stood, the bigger budget, higher production values and bigger stars helped the film actually rise a little above the material and seem to be much glossier and impressive than it actually was. The stunts and effects worked well and the direction was of a higher calibre than you'd see on the bottom shelf, but it is still a very ordinary thriller if you strip all the polish away.

The cast try hard but they have little to work with. An unnecessary role from Tommy Lee Jones helps keep the film's pace up by turning it into a cat and mouse chase of sorts, but mostly it is pretty dull. Judd is OK in the lead but doesn't do anything to justify her fee I reckon. Support from Mafia is so lame that it looks like she is almost falling asleep while giving her lines! The film relies on pace and tension which it mostly gets by flipping cars around for little reason and for putting Elizabeth in slightly (!) unlikely situations then getting her out of them. The legal interest in the plot actually falls to pieces when you think about it, but the film is clever enough never to take it's central idea further than a few lines of dialogue before rendering the argument null and void.

Overall I was struck by just how ordinary and dull the whole film was. If I had seen this film as a low budget video thriller I still wouldn't have liked it but I may have accepted it for what it is. This film just exposed it's own weaknesses by virtue of pushing to be a product much grander than it's plot deserved.