lavatch
The title of this film implies that that there will be moral considerations raised about the subject of guilt. It turns out that there will be an abundance of guilty people in constant interaction during this two-hour drama.At the center of the story is a sleazy attorney, Callum Crane, who becomes a judge after committing a heinous act of assault of a young staff member in his law office. The balance of the film is a desperate effort on the part of the judge to eliminate all of the incriminating evidence and to silence the woman he abused when she attempts to blackmail him. Part of his master plan is murder.The screenplay for "The Guilty" is a nonstop string of coincidences that bring together various subplots: (1) Crane's response to a blackmail threat from his victim, Sophie Lennon; (2) the untoward circumstances of the long-lost son of Crane, Nathan Corrigan, who has started a relationship with Sophie and has been hired by his father to kill her; (3) an adulterous affair that is taking place behind Crane's back with his wife and another attorney; and (4) an unsavory group of criminals who enter into the mix, due to Nathan's association with a young thug named Leo.Bill Pulman's interpretation of the character of Callum Crane has far too much sympathy because too often he seems like a really nice guy. We see the conscience of Crane as he attempts to redeem himself after he has reached a point of no return. Likewise, Crane's bastard son was far too sensitive, decent, and honest to have ever spent time in prison for auto theft or to have become enmeshed with a troubled soul like Leo. The father and the son were simply too likable. Despite the film's shortcomings, there were many creative touches in the multi-layered narrative. Hardly a minute goes by without some indication of the main emotional theme: guilt.
felicia blake
I saw this movie last night and was pleasantly surprised at what a good thriller it was.I won't give the plot away, but this film is full of twists and turns.At first I thought it was a long-lost son searching for his father, then I thought it was about a woman wronged. It had so many sub-plots, characters with agenda's and surprises galore.Devon Sawa (Final Destination) and Bll Pullman (Independance Day) are excellent in their roles, and add to the viewing pleasure.It starts out slowly, but gathers pace at an alarming rate.A buried treasure!
ccthemovieman-1
This was a sleeper, a no-name movie that might have gone straight-to-video and was pretty good. It's one of these crime movies that doesn't have a lot of action yet keeps your interest all the way through.Like a true film noir, none of the characters nor their morality in this are really good but what WAS good was a few things at the end of this story you rarely see in a Hollywood film.Bill Pullman, Devon Sawa, Gabrielle Anwar, Angela Featherstone and Joanne Whalley (Kilmer) make for a diverse cast of actors. This is worth a look if you can find it anywhere but not that good to go searching for it.
admkedin
BBC1 ran The Guilty as its late night movie on Friday, July 9, 2004. Well worth watching if you're too tired to go to the pub. Suspense, twists and turns reminiscent of the Coen Brothers or Quentin Tarantino. However I find it difficult to write 10 lines of text about it without giving too much away. The plot hinges on one of the characters being pursued for debt by some very nasty gentlemen and the reluctance of the hero to carry out a murder requested by a high flying lawyer who does not know his relationship to the hero.The hero is unable to prevent the hit being carried out and is arrested on suspicion of having done it himself. However loose ends are neatly tied up at the end with the aid of a Hitchcockian McGuffin (at least it looked like a McGuffin to me).
AD
