Under Suspicion Movie Review

Under Suspicion may look pretty good on cable television at one o'clock in the morning. But on the huge screen, well, there's nothing wrong with Under Suspicion that a good script doctor and/or a decent director couldn't have fixed. Simon Moore is the director of this British made-for-television “thriller” starring Liam Neeson and Laura San Giacomo. Neeson is cast as the traditional “wrong man” and plays the entire role that way. But there is one sequence when he whispers in San Giacomo's ear and another when he ignites a cigarette lighter that look just like the director told him, “Just do these shots and I'll explain why later.” As any good thriller writer will tell you, you can use sleight of hand all you want, but the clues have got to be there or the audience will feel cheated. I wonder if Liam Neeson will feel cheated if he ever gets around to seeing Under Suspicion. I was eager to see Laura San Giacomo in a lead, since she's done some wonderful work in supporting roles, but alas, she'll have to wait for another lead to do her career some good. San Giacomo CAN play a femme fatale—I've seen her do it—but Simon Moore is no Steven Soderbergh or Lasse Hallstrom; San Giacomo looks and sounds like a little kid playing dress-up. This is the sort of movie that tries to evoke silent serials, film noir, kitchen sink dramas, and even the suspense-building style of Alfred Hitchcock, but fails on every count. Why is there a 1957 flashback? (It's a red herring.) Why is a stuck-up barrister in bed with a young boy? (That's a double red herring.) Why does most of the story take place on the eve of the ‘60s? (Well, partly to explain ‘50s British attitudes toward divorce and homosexuality, but mostly because Moore has a neat line about the passing of the decade. He seems to think it's neat, anyway.) This movie is so out of touch that a character has to say out loud twice “I'll never make it in time” when he's racing to save a man from the gallows. And GUESS what happens after that? One saving grace: Kenneth Cranham does a fine job in an incomprehensible character role.

1992 (R) 99m/C GB Liam Neeson, Laura San Giacomo, Alphonsia Emmanuel, Kenneth Cranham, Maggie O'Neill, Martin Grace, Stephen Moore; D: Simon Moore; W: Simon Moore; C: Vernon Layton; M: Christopher Gunning. VHS, LV, Closed Caption