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Thriller

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt

- Why would a man frame himself... for murder?

Remake of a 1956 Fritz Lang film in which a novelist's investigation of a dirty district attorney leads to a setup within the courtroom.

Release Date : 2009-02-05

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Aramid EntertainmentAutonomous FilmsForesight UnlimitedGovernment of Saudi ArabiaSignature EntertainmentRKO Pictures LLC

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Jesse Metcalfe

Character Name : C.J. Nicholas

Original Name : Jesse Metcalfe

Gender : Male

Amber Tamblyn

Character Name : Ella Crystal

Original Name : Amber Tamblyn

Gender : Female

Michael Douglas

Character Name : Mark Hunter

Original Name : Michael Douglas

Gender : Male

Joel David Moore

Character Name : Corey Finley

Original Name : Joel David Moore

Gender : Male

Orlando Jones

Character Name : Ben Nickerson

Original Name : Orlando Jones

Gender : Male

Lawrence P. Beron

Character Name : Lieutenant Merchant

Original Name : Lawrence P. Beron

Gender : Male

Sewell Whitney

Character Name : Martin Weldon

Original Name : Sewell Whitney

Gender : Male

David Jensen

Character Name : Gary Spota

Original Name : David Jensen

Gender : Male

Sharon K. London

Character Name : Judge Sheppard

Original Name : Sharon K. London

Gender : Female

Krystal Kofie

Character Name : Taieesha

Original Name : Krystal Kofie

Gender : Female

Randal Reeder

Character Name : Survivalist Man

Original Name : Randal Reeder

Gender : Male

Ryan Glorioso

Character Name : Animal Shelter Attendant

Original Name : Ryan Glorioso

Gender : Male

Jon McCarthy

Character Name : Detective Rawley

Original Name : Jon McCarthy

Gender : Male

Grant James

Character Name : Aaron Wakefield

Original Name : Grant James

Gender : Male

Eric Gipson

Character Name : Allen

Original Name : Eric Gipson

Gender : Male

Darcel White Moreno

Character Name : Reporter #3

Original Name : Darcel White Moreno

Gender : Female

Megan Brown

Character Name : Roberta

Original Name : Megan Brown

Gender : Female

Michele Williams

Character Name : Danielle

Original Name : Michele Williams

Gender : Female

Wallace Merck

Character Name : Gilbert Romans

Original Name : Wallace Merck

Gender : Male

Robert Larriviere

Character Name : Kevin Tarlow

Original Name : Robert Larriviere

Gender : Male

Juli Erickson

Character Name : Madalyn Urlanger

Original Name : Juli Erickson

Gender : Female

Carrie Slaughter

Character Name : Marsha

Original Name : Carrie Slaughter

Gender : Male

Tony Bentley

Character Name : Roger Milner

Original Name : Tony Bentley

Gender : Male

Andrei Constantinescu

Character Name : Bruce Stern

Original Name : Andrei Constantinescu

Gender : Male

John McConnell

Character Name : Vernon Green

Original Name : John McConnell

Gender : Male

Meade Patton

Character Name : Detective Riddick

Original Name : Meade Patton

Gender : Male

Sigal Diamant

Character Name : Maralyn

Original Name : Sigal Diamant

Gender : Female

Illana Diamont

Character Name : Mrs. Hunter

Original Name : Illana Diamont

Gender : Male

Gerry May

Character Name : Anchorman

Original Name : Gerry May

Gender : Male

Carl Savering

Character Name : Bailiff

Original Name : Carl Savering

Gender : Male

Kelvin Payton

Character Name : Cameraman

Original Name : Kelvin Payton

Gender : Male

Fred Ellis

Character Name : Forensics Expert

Original Name : Fred Ellis

Gender : Male

Edrick Browne

Character Name : Manager

Original Name : Edrick Browne

Gender : Male

Ron Flagge

Character Name : Property Clarke

Original Name : Ron Flagge

Gender : Male

David Born

Character Name : Property Sgt.

Original Name : David Born

Gender : Male

James Harlon Palmer

Character Name : News Cameraman (uncredited)

Original Name : James Harlon Palmer

Gender : Male

Dan Harville

Character Name : Deputy

Original Name : Dan Harville

Gender : Male

Reviews

J

John Chard

@John Chard

2024-05-16

Why would a man frame himself... for murder? Beyond a Reasonable Doubt is directed by Peter Hyams and Hyams adapts the screenplay from Douglas Morrow's story/screenplay for the 1956 film of the same name. It stars Jesse Metcalfe, Amber Tamblyn, Michael Douglas, Joel David Moore and Orlando Jones. Music is by David Shire and Hyams also tackles cinematography duties. C.J. Nicholas (Metcalfe) is a journalist aiming for high things. He is convinced that high profile lawyer Mark Hunter (Douglas) is corrupting legal issues and sets about proving it... The 1956 film was the great Fritz Lang's last American film, more court drama than being overtly film noir, it was a film well tuned into legalities of its time. Hyams here updates to a modern era setting and it is fanciful - due to the advancements in technology - in the extreme. Of course those things can often be forgivable if the film is well put together and holds some thriller/drama weight. The look of the film is cheap, as in a TV movie look, with the cinematography uninspiring, the young cast members hardly turn in characterisations to care for, while Douglas (who is very good) is surprisingly under used. The story is a fascinating one as per human foibles, and there's a double whammy stroll down twister street that lifts the film to a rewarding closure. But it's still a disappointment, and this even if you haven't seen Lang's far superior 56 film. 6/10

T

tmdb28039023

@tmdb28039023

2022-09-13

The only thing that’s beyond a reasonable doubt here is this movie’s stupidity. The film opens with District Attorney Mark Hunter (Michael Douglas) addressing the jury at a murder trial: “The defense would like to tell you that our entire case is circumstantial. There are no eyewitnesses, no ballistic match, no alibi." Odd. One would think that a prosecutor who has scored 17 murder convictions in a row would view the absence of an alibi as something that favors the prosecution and not the defense. Reporter C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe) is convinced that Hunter is corrupt; all 17 convictions were decided by DNA evidence that Nicholas is certain was planted in some way by Hunter. For example, a cigarette butt photographed at a crime scene belongs to a cigarette the defendant is shown smoking in an interrogation video; Nicholas's boss asks him rhetorically, "How could someone plant the cigarette at the crime scene when the interrogation took place three days after the crime scene photographs were taken?" Undaunted, Nicholas concocts a harebrained scheme to frame himself for the murder of a prostitute using circumstantial evidence (we know it’s harebrained because is a Life of David Gale ripoff). This includes buying a balaclava (and macing it while he’s wearing it. D’oh!) and a pair of sneakers from an "extremely rare" brand that "they stopped making in 1999." These shoes leave a footprint that matches in “size and weight” one found at the crime scene. I'd say this is a hint that (spoiler) Nicholas is the killer after all (otherwise the "size and weight" thing would be a huge coincidence), but that would be giving Hyams too much credit — especially considering that Nicholas forces a poor Jack Russell to bite him in the calf of his left leg, to recreate the bite received by the murderer courtesy of a witness's dog; however, since he really is the killer, this means he already has a bite mark. The second bite occurs off-camera, which leads me to assume either Nicholas managed to get the second dog to bite him in exactly the same place as the first, or that Corey (Joel David Moore), his friend and accomplice (in everything but the murder), who is also supposedly a journalist, is unable to tell the difference between a fresh dog bite and an old one. And let's not even talk about the sneakers of which Nicholas actually owns two pairs (so much for «extremely rare»). The icing on the bullshit cake is that Nicholas's plan depends entirely on Hunter actually being corrupt and willing to plant evidence, even though it's been well established that this is nothing more than a hunch on Nicholas's part, all his evidence of it nothing but pure speculation.