BEFORE: We had an ice storm in New York this morning - and I'm not going to watch the film with that name for another week and a half. Some weather reports called it a "wintry mix", which I didn't mind because I don't have to shovel a wintry mix. Tonight's film is a mix as well, as I transition out of my legal films and into my relationship dramas - this one's a bit of both, I think.
THE PLOT: San Francisco heiress Page Forrester is brutally murdered in her remote beach house. Her husband Jack is devastated by the crime but soon finds himself accused of her murder. He hires lawyer Teddy Barnes to defend him, which leads to a certain chemistry between them.
AFTER: Again, I'm not a lawyer - but I think the first thing they teach you on day one of law school is "Don't sleep with your client." And if not, well, maybe they should.
A lawyer also shouldn't let the result of a previous case color her actions in a current case, but that seems to be the situation here. Attorney Teddy Barnes, played by Glenn Close (last seen in "Air Force One"), has a grudge against her old D.A. boss, so of course she ends up facing him in a murder trial. And she's still sore over him withholding evidence in a previous case - but hey, at least she knows all of his tricks, right?
This movie actually did a good job of muddying the waters about the accused - is he a stone-cold killer who's manipulative, but charming? Or is he a charming, but manipulative man who's been falsely accused? Well, it kept me guessing anyway.
Also starring Jeff Bridges (last seen in "The Fabulous Baker Boys"), Peter Coyote (last seen in "Outrageous Fortune"), Robert Loggia (last seen in "Prizzi's Honor"), Lance Henriksen (last seen in "Damien: Omen II"), and a brief pre-Star Trek appearance of Michael "Worf" Dorn as a polygraph expert.
RATING: 5 out of 10 Denver omelettes
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