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Shadow of Doubt

Starring: Melanie Griffith, Tom Berenger
Director: Randal Kleiser
Genre: Thriller
Year: 1998
Rating: 1 / 5

What can be said about a film which boasts Huey Lewis's supporting turn as its best acting performance? It is one thing to watch early releases from actors who have gone on to bigger and better things. It is something else entirely to watch sub-par efforts from actors on the downward slope of their careers. This is not to say that Melanie Griffith and Tom Berenger, the stars of Randal Kleiser's plodding Shadow of Doubt, were ever truly A-list actors. In fact, I have often questioned their status, and this film merely serves to confirm what I have long believed. Even more troubling, Berenger delivers what has to be one of the worst performances outside of the B-movie genre.

Kim Devereux (Melania Griffith) is an ambitious attorney known for representing only high-profile murder and sexual assault clients. (For whatever reason, though, she still spends most of her time working out of her home.) When the daughter of a local bigwig is found murdered in her pool, the police finger controversial rapper Bobby Medina (Wade Dominguez) as the likely suspect. In swoops Devereux, accusing assistant district attorney Jack Campioni (Tom Berenger) of using Medina for political gain. Campioni is, after all, the likely future attorney general for presidential hopeful Paul Saxon (James Morrison), a good friend of the deceased's family. The ties do not end there - Campioni is also Devereux's former lover, their relationship a victim of two unwavering careers.

Devereux is not without her own hidden agenda, however. Five years prior she successfully defended Laird Atkins (Craig Sheffer), a client with whom she was having an affair at the time. After his acquittal, he confessed his guilt to her, leading her to seek a restraining order against him. Since then, she has been haunted by the prospect of setting another criminal free, even though she defends men she barely believes in. This same dilemma faces Devereux here, until, that is, she finds evidence suggesting an affair between Senator Paul Saxon and the deceased. Soon Devereux begins feeling heat from Campioni, Saxon's conniving mother, and a recently-surfaced Atkins.

Reading the description of this film, it mind sound formulaic, but it hardly sounds deplorable. Unfortunately, the premise is one of only two redeeming features of this film, the other being supporting actor Huey Lewis. Melanie Griffith is as whiny as ever, and she is barely convincing as a tough-talking attorney. Tom Berenger gets handed the thankless role of spineless lackey Jack Campioni, and he manages to ensure that his character never rises above its humble beginnings. James Morrison delivers a cardboard rendition of a corruption-tinged senator, a presidential candidate with no one to steer him clear of scandal. Shadow of Doubt starts off as a tried-and-true take on a genre done many times before, only to show us the new lows to which such films can sink. Thanks for the reminder...

Cast:

Certification: Rated R for violence and language.
Running Time: 90 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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