Lately in Hollywood, originality seems to be a key component in a film's popularity. Whether it is the idea, screenplay, script or the acting in a movie, what audiences really want to see is something they haven't seen before. It is in this arena that Carl Franklin's "High Crimes" achieves close to nothing. The film is based on an idea that was good 25 years ago and is littered with clichs.
"High Crimes" starts out by painting a portrait of the life of Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd), a high-ranking criminal defense attorney in one of San Francisco's prestigious law firms. She and her husband Tom (James Caviezel) are trying to have their first child.
The first 15 minutes of the film are devoted to proving how perfect the couple's life is: they are happily married, live in a nice house, drive a luxury SUV -- everything one would expect in a fairytale suburban life.
But their beautiful life is shattered when FBI agents seize them on the street one evening. Events rapidly proceed until we find out that Tom (whose real identity is now in question) was a Marine before Claire ever knew him, and he participated in the massacre of a small town in El Salvador called Los Colinas. If convicted, Tom will receive the death sentence.
After meeting the inexperienced lawyer assigned to her husband's case, Claire is intent on defending him herself. However, she needs a guide in the strange world of military law and insists on finding "the best." In comes Charlie Grimes (Morgan Freeman), who faded into obscurity after becoming the most feared military defense lawyer in California.
As Charlie and Claire search for proof of her husband's innocence, trust issues -- such as Tom's never having told Claire his real name -- test their marriage. It becomes apparent that Claire is in over her head in her attempt to uncover her husband's past.
Almost everything about this movie is tiresome. The cinematography tries hard to be inventive, but the picture is filmed in very bland places, so the attempt becomes an annoyance. The acting of Judd and Freeman is good. Although the two possess talent, a sub-par script limits them.
The movie appears to be a forced John Grisham novel, and the characters seem like they have been in two or three movies with the same story line. In the same manner, the plot twists seem recycled and are so predictable that the viewer is almost shocked when they actually occur.
Almost every facet of the film is clich: the smart, motivated lawyer with her manly carpenter husband, the alcoholic, washed-up lawyer who is incredibly talented, a military trial, the lawyer's wild young sister -- the list goes on.
To its credit, this movie is mildly entertaining. But even so, the film is average. It does a good job of trying to be "A Few Good Men" or almost any John Grisham-based film. But in the end, "High Crimes" doesn't make any lasting impact on the viewer.
