SUSPECT. Directed by Peter Yates; written by Eric Roth; produced by Daniel A. Sherkow for Tri-Star. Starring Cher and Dennis Quaid. Rated R (a little offensive language and violence).
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Nothing like this ever happened to Perry Mason, I'm sure. He never had a juror, of all people, help get his defendant acquitted. But that's the situation public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) is faced with in Suspect.
Kathleen, instead of getting a much needed vacation, gets assigned to another depressing but apparently open-and-shut murder case. A fierce and uncooperative vagrant is arrested in possession of the wallet belonging to a murdered civil servant. Her throat was cut and he has a knife.
But Kathleen takes her job seriously and is determined to give the homeless man, whose name is Carl (Liam Neeson), the best defense she can.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the social and political world of Washington (and the setting is almost as important as any of the characters) Eddie (Quaid) is a cynical but successful lobbyist who really doesn't have time for jury duty. But he got off the last time he was called, so he's stuck now.
Here is the point where Suspect 's storyline gets a bit hard to swallow. Eddie, who may or may not be a decent sort of guy—we haven't seen enough of him to know—must decide that Carl looks innocent.
But rather than just wait and use his considerable persuasive skills and convince his fellow jurors to vote for acquittal, he takes the singular step of working with Kathleen in her client's defense. The clues they dig up, not too surprisingly, lead a long way from the homeless unfortunates who live along the Potomac waterfront.
Everything from Kathleen's office to her car rings true to character. And Cher's performance is excellent. She's quite convincing as an intelligent, sensitive professional who feels her job is important and does it well, but who is on the verge of a burnout from overwork and frustration.
Quaid's not as flashy here as usual, but Eddie is an entertaining character and is as believeable as the script allows him to be.
The supporting cast is equally good, but special mention must be made of Neeson. Without having a single word of dialogue, he creates a tragic, moving character who gradually gains our sympathy and understanding as the movie and the trial progress.
Most of Suspect takes place in the courtroom. But the story is well paced, and the short bursts of real action are all the more forceful in contrast to the "talking" scenes.
There is little actual violence in Suspect, but there are some grisly shots of the dead body. And the threat of violence is always there, especially when the action moves outside.
The attraction between Eddie and Kathleen is obvious from their first meeting. But no graphic sex develops. (There's only one kiss, in fact!)
The plot of Suspect does present some wildly implausible notions. But if you can just manage to swallow them, they won't give you indigestion. The movie's stars make it easy to enjoy in spite of its faults.
November 4, 1987