Highly Overrated But Still Good

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

In deciding to do this British TV miniseries as a movie, there was an opportunity to take maybe just one of the coincidences that ruin this story out of the script, but instead, it's practically verbatim.Bill Pullman plays Callum Crane, an excellent attorney who is totally self-involved, arrogant, and amoral. He lives with his wife and her children, whom he doesn't like.Crane becomes interested in a young secretary, the petite, leggy Sophie (Gabrielle Anwar). One night, they are both at the office late, have drinks together and go to her apartment. He wants to have sex with her, but Sophie realizes it's a mistake. After all, he's her boss and he's married and drunk. Crane doesn't take no for an answer and rapes her.Sophie is too traumatized to report it or do anything about it, but Crane is bothered by her presence and has her fired. Then he is made a Judge. Sophie sees an opportunity to threaten him with going public if he doesn't resign.A subplot concerns a young man who, learning he is adopted, goes searching for his father.The British version, due to the young thugs, is grittier, and let's face an important fact - Bill Pullman is no Michael Kitchen and doesn't come close to realizing this character. He comes off as a bland guy, although an egotistical attorney, who decides to take a desperate action, but we don't see his growing desperation, and we don't see him as someone capable of making the decision he makes or any of the follow-up.What I found mildly interesting is that Joanna Whalley plays Pullman's wife, and like the character of Sophie, she too is petite and brunette, so you can see the interest -- he's at this point not very involved with his wife.I've always thought Gabrielle Anwar was a very good actress, and she is excellent here, sexy and more street smart than in the British version where the character was much more naive and fragile.The ending is different, making it a tiny bit more palatable. The ending of the original was disappointing.If you're going to see a version of "The Guilty," see the British 1992 version.

**SPOILERS** Extremely over-plotted made for TV movie that has at least a half dozen different storyline running concurrently through it at the same time.There's young and troubled Nate Corrigan, Devon Sawa, who' looking to turn his life around after serving six month behind bars on a stolen car conviction. There's also Nate's two muddled headed and criminally prone friends Leo & Dennis, Jaimz Wolvett & Darcy Belsher who are about the last people that Nate, being on parole, should associate with. It's these two noodnicks who pick Nate up from prison in a stolen SUV and almost end up getting killed in a wild ride where they almost ends up killing a number of carnival security guards who try to stop them from demolishing the place.The major plot in the film is the connection that Nate has with sleazy and oily defense lawyer Callum Crane, Bill Pullman. It's Crane who it turns out, through his birth certificate, is Nate's biological father. The father Nate never knew he had! It also turns out that Crane is somewhat of a ladies man cheating on his wife Natalie, Joanne Whalley, who in return is cheating on him by having an affair with Crane's law partner Brent Frazer, Kent Thembleh. The thing that really gets the movie, with all the confusion in it, going is Crane's rape of his first day on the job secretary Sophie Lennon, Gabrielle Anwar. Having Sophie fired from her job to keep her from giving him any trouble the very smart Crane showed just what an ignorant and overconfident jerk, despite his perfect recored as a defense attorney, he really is.It was Sophie on learning that her hot in the pants and unethical lawyer ex-boss was appointed to be a respected Federal Court Judge where he's sit and pass down judgment on rapists like himself that she started blackmailing him to either resign his post or she'll, by revealing just what a sleaze-ball he is, force him to do it. What in fact ties the Crane Sophie entanglement together in the movie is that Crane's illegitimate son Nate is also Sophie's roommate! Now how's that for a coincidence!Believe or not all this is just half of what's going on in the movie "The Guilty" the other half has to do with Crane trying to get Sophie knocked off by non-other then his, whom he at the time doesn't realize, son Nate! Nate not willing to do the job, he doesn't even ask his old man whom he's supposed to knock off, which has his good friend Leo, who's in debt to a gang of murderous bikers, do the hit-job instead.***SPOILER ALERT*** The last fifteen minutes of the film is packed with so many twists and turns that your left feeling dizzy just trying to follow it. When you and Crane finally get the pay-off to what the movie's ending is really all about you by then have been left so mind numbed and psychically exhausted that it takes you a while to figure just what the big surprise ending is really all about!

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.

Bill Pullman enjoys himself as the bad guy in this excellent, traditionally styled neo-noir thriller. Lawyer, Callum Crane in is line for appointment for a position as a federal judge, but just after his appointment he is accused of rape by a female colleague that he forced himself upon while drunk. Meanwhile, the lawyer's son, Nathan has found out the identity of his biological father, also Callum Crane, and sets off to the city in order to find him. Before he is able to tell his father who is he is, he is given an envelope and is offered money to take care of the problem; by killing the girl that has accused Callum Crane of murder.The story, despite it's relative complexity, unfolds in a manner that is easy and interesting to follow as a result of the excellent storytelling. The plot unfolds bit by bit, which serves in building suspense and also makes the film interesting as the audience is fed just enough to keep them interested, but not enough so that the film is able to become predictable; which makes for a very thrilling thriller.The acting in The Guilty varies from mediocre, to great; with Bill Pullman at the top end of the spectrum, and Gabrielle Anwar at the other end. That's not to say that she's particularly bad though; a lot of her rather insignificant performance can be put down to a lack of depth for her character. None of the characters in The Guilty are particularly well done, but the majority of them don't need to be, and the film is efficient in that it doesn't waste lots of time building up characters that are not central to the plot. Also worthy of note acting wise is Jaimz Woolvett, the man that plays Leo; who is undoubtedly one of the main players of the piece. Jaimz portrays his character with a great deal of strength and rawness and is absolutely perfect in his role. Jaimz Woolvett is best known for his role as The Schofield Kid in Unforgiven, and the fact that he hasn't made anything else of note since is a real shame as he has proved with this movie and Unforgiven that he is capable of a powerful and emotional performance.The Guilty, like many thrillers, features plenty of twists and turns to keep the audience hooked, but none are as amusing, well done or satisfying as the end one. The movie saves its best trick to last and the end of this movie is bound to put a smile on any viewer's face. One of my favourite twist endings without a doubt.Overall, The Guilty is a very good thriller. Unlike a lot of it's modern day counterparts, this film doesn't rely on violence or loud music to make itself worth watching, but rather on the more old-fashioned methods such as strength of storytelling and interesting performances from everyone involved. The Guilty is not a great movie, but as far as modern day thrillers go; this is not a bad example.