Mystery Movie Review - Double Jeopardy

 This 1999 movie is one where critics hated it and audiences mostly enjoyed or loved. The basic legal concept of Double Jeopardy used in the film (you can't be tried twice for the same crime) many people point out doesn't work as it does in the film and become indignant about it. This is fictitious, it isn't the real world. Now if this point is a deal breaker, don't watch it.  I have watched this several times, even own it on DVD (remember those).  So read on if you want to know more.

What it's about:

When Nick Parsons appears to be murdered by his adoring wife, Libby, she is tried and convicted as the killer. While in prison, she discovers he is alive and must have set her up. After six years in prison, Libby is paroled and is pursued by Travis Lehman (her parole officer) as she sets out to find her son and settle the score with not-dead-Nick.

Rated R (language, some violence).  1 hour 45 minutes

Cast:

Ashley Judd as Libby

Tommy Lee Jones as Travis

Bruce Greenwood as Nick

Annabeth Gish as Angie

Roma Maffia as  Margaret

Director Bruce Beresford

Producers Leonard Goldberg and Richard Luke Rothschild

Screenwriters David Weisberg and Douglas Cook

Rotten Tomatoes (28%) Audience (61%) and critics reviews:

"28 on rotten tomatoes just goes to show you the critics do not judge movies like the regular folk do. This is an excellent little thriller. Good storyline. Someone wrongly accused trying to fight the justice system without anybody's help." Audience Reviewer "C T"

"Who doesn't love a 90s female-fronted action thriller? Judd completely sells Libby's transformation in this wannabe The Fugitive sequel. While some of the politics of Lee Jones' character are icky, it's very satisfying seeing Greenwood get his comeuppance." Joe Lipsett-Anatomy of a Scream Podcast Network

"Sit back, relax, and marvel at the wonder that is Ashley Judd." Karen Kemmerle-Decider

"Double Jeopardy has all the legal savvy of the O.J. Simpson jury." Martin Scribbs- Low IQ Canadian

"Implausible and contrived...it's "The Fugitive," complete with Tommy Lee Jones in essentially the same role." John J Puccio-Movie Metropolis

"It cannot be art, but commercially and emotionally, it aims to satisfy, and does." David Elliott-San Diego Union-Tribune

Noteworthy awards or rankings:

• 2000 Winner Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Suspense  Ashley Judd
• 2000 Nominee Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor - Suspense  Tommy Lee Jones
• 2000 Nominee Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Suspense Bruce Greenwood
• 2000 Nominee MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance Ashley Judd

Trivia (from IMDB):

• Jodie Foster landed the role of Libby after Meg Ryan and Brooke Shields both declined, but was replaced by Ashley Judd when Foster became pregnant. Michelle Pfeiffer turned down the lead role in order to film the romantic comedy The Story of Us (1999), opposite Bruce Willis.

• Despite playing the main character and protagonist, Ashley Judd took second billing behind Tommy Lee Jones and even though Tommy Lee Jones does not appear on screen until over 33 minutes into it.  Tommy Lee Jones earned $10 million for appearing in the film. By comparison, Ashley Judd, who played the lead, was paid $1 million.

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

• Greg Kinnear was offered the part of Nicholas Parsons, but passed.

• The portion of this film that is set in Evergreen, Colorado was filmed in Vancouver, BC.

• When Libby uses the pay phone in prison she is wearing her wedding ring. The ring would have been confiscated when she was first arrested.

• Ashley Judd and Roma Maffia also acted together in Kiss the Girls (1997).

• Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones appeared with Val Kilmer in different films in the same year: Judd in Heat (1995) and Jones in Batman Forever (1995).

• Tommy Lee Jones and Bruce Greenwood would collaborate again in Rules of Engagement (2000).

• Bruce Greenwood played Batman in the animated movies Batman: Death in the Family (2020), Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010), and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (2018). Tommy Lee Jones also played in a Batman movie: Batman Forever (1995).

• Bruce Greenwood also played Captain Christopher Pike in J.J. Abrams' movies Star Trek (2009) and Star Trek Into Darkness (2013).

My Thoughts:

First, let me just say that "there is nothing new under the sun." By which I mean that any stripped down plot has been done before and is what every single author or screenwriter faces today.  This movie has been discounted because they claim it's essentially The Fugitive. It is how you make it different and make it your own that matters. Double Jeopardy is different than The Fugitive in that Libby is fighting to get her son back and get back at her husband for setting her up, where The Fugitive is trying to find his wife's killer and clear his name thereby also getting his reputation and career back. Additionally, The Fugitive is rushing to find who the murderer really was and why, whereas in Double Jeopardy it becomes clear that nobody was murdered. Completely different emotional motivations at play and dinging this movie because of a somewhat similar concept is ludicrous. 

Any argument regarding whether or not the whole double jeopardy law works in the way that it was portrayed in the film is ridiculous. Think about it this way: perhaps there should be a one line disclaimer in bold print at the beginning of the movie along the lines of "this fictitious story does not claim to provide anyone legal advice."  That is right up there with the warning on fast food paper coffee cups to be careful because the coffee is hot or don't take a medicine if you are allergic to it! No Sh_t Sherlock. 

Double Jeopardy filming has gorgeous scenery with lush photography and solid editing. The music sets the atmosphere nicely, and the script is well paced with only a few brief slower parts. Tommy Lee Jones and especially Ashley Judd deliver solid and moving lead performances.  I will give a caveat that there are some logistics that are improbable in the storyline, but all fiction relies on a certain amount of suspending ones disbelief and this wasn't overly outlandish, so I was good with it.  Some will find it exciting while others may find it an average suspense tale. I find it entertaining and good for a popcorn night. This is a solid movie so settle in, route for Ashley Judd, and enjoy the ride without over thinking it all.

If you have watched it before, perhaps it would be a good one to re-watch.  Let me know your thoughts on this movie in the comments.  Also, tell me if there is a mystery movie you would like me to review in the comments. I don't do horror, gory, or overly violent movies so give me some suggestions.

Movie Trailer:

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