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Actors: Glenn Close, Jeff Bridges, Peter Coyote
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Jagged Edge |
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San Francisco defense attorney Teddy Barnes (Close) takes on a high-profile murder case involving the brutal slaying of newspaper publishing heiress Page Forrester and her maid with a hunting knife. The suspect is the seceased's husband Jack (Bridges) who of course stands to inherit millions from the estate. Barnes hasn't handled a criminal case in a some time, but is trying to redeem some past unethical behavior. Unfortunately, she has a hard time deciding whether her client is guilty or innocent, and falling for him doesn't simplify matters. Director Richard Marquand ("Return of the Jedi" and "Eye of the Needle") did a decent job with this 1985 flick, shooting a rather poor and moth-eaten script by Joe Eszterhas --
successfully manipulative, but not very credible in many ways, especially courtroom procedure. "Jagged Edge" inspired a raft of murder and courtroom thrillers in its wake, some of them better movies. Much of the acting here is strong, though: Coyote makes a fine, politically ambitious DA, and Robert Loggia is fun as Barnes's foul-mouthed but fatherly private eye.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Jagged Edge |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1980's-1999
Legal/Political Thriller?
Yes
Legal Thriller Plotlets:
- finding out whether someone is really guilty
Romance
Yes
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Age:
- 40's-50's
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair style
- medium/shoulderlgn, wavy (woman)
Events of movie makes character more...
- irritated
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- muscular (man)
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- govt employee
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- average (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
City?
Yes
City:
- dangerous
- wealthy
- San Francisco
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately messy visuals of dead
Movie makes you feel...
- concerned
How many deaths in film?
- 2
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 1 (None)
Kind of violence:
- knives
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--swords/knives
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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