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This Film On

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High Crimes

(2002)

115 min. 20th Century Fox. Director: Carl Franklin. Cast: Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Jim Caviezel, Adam Scott, Amanda Peet.

Ashley Judd could have had a career. Instead, she's made bad choices which allow her talent to be exploited and, worse, ossified to the point where her fundamental ability is now sorely in question. She's still Catwoman-in-waiting (as she likes to remind us in all her press), but High Crimes, her latest woman-in-jeopardy thriller, finds the taut-faced Judd on autopilot.

The two things working for High Crimes are director Carl Franklin--best known for the mystery-thrillers Devil in a Blue Dress and One False Move--and Morgan Freeman. Freeman, unlike his pal Judd, seems incapable of phoning in a bad performance, no matter how lazy the script.

Judd plays Claire Kubik, a high-powered lawyer who suddenly finds her seemingly perfect husband Tom (Jim Caviezel) accused of murder by the U.S. Army. Despite the arcane procedures of military court, who better to defend him than his tenacious wife? But the more she finds out (!), the more she wonders what she's gotten herself into (!), which seems to be a military conspiracy (!!), perhaps masterminded by the general played by all-purpose slimeball Bruce Davison (!). Oh, and Claire's ne'er-do-well, sister (Amanda Peet) is around (apparently solely to add slutty sex appeal). Fresh-faced Adam Scott provides more chuckles as her prey, the defender assigned to Tom...or is Tom's real name...Ron (!!!)?

Despite my aversion to derivative, lazy, and improbable thrillers, I'd be lying if I said High Crimes had no pulp entertainment value. Franklin keeps things juiced with his dynamic camera, and even though his character (and much of the script) feels like warmed-over Anatomy of a Murder, Freeman brings a well-worn grace to the role of Charles Grimes, an alcoholic lawyer in private practice. Kudos also to the always affecting Caviezel (he always looks as if he's been hit on the head with a brick, but it works). However, someone should tell this famously and deeply religious actor--who refused to film his love scene unless both he and Judd were fully dressed--not to choose sleazy scripts like this one. Then again, someone should tell Franklin and Freeman the same thing.