Recent from talks
High Crimes
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
High Crimes
High Crimes is a 2002 American legal thriller film directed by Carl Franklin, based on a screenplay by Yuri Zeltser and Grace Cary Bickley that adapted Joseph Finder's 1998 novel. Starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, the film follows defense attorney Claire Kubik (Judd) as she teams up with a seasoned military attorney (Freeman) to uncover a cover-up while defending her husband, Tom, who is charged with the murder of nine civilians in El Salvador and revealed to have been living under a false identity.
Attorney Claire Kubik and her woodworker husband Tom had led an idyllic life in Marin County, California. Whilst Christmas shopping in San Francisco's Union Square, Tom is suddenly arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with the 1988 murders of nine unarmed civilians in a village in El Salvador. Claire is shocked to discover that Tom's real name is Ronald Chapman and that he had been in a covert military operation in his service of United States Marine Corps, and had been on the run for the past 12 years. Stunned, with her world shattering around her, she steels herself, determined to help Tom prove his innocence and prepared to take on what she may find out about him. She is determined to uncover the truth and save her husband from a life imprisonment.
Tom admits that he was at the scene of the mass murders but vehemently insists that he had absolutely no role in the gruesome killings. His protests allude to the fact that he has been implicated in the crime to act as a scapegoat and protect Major James Hernandez, the real perpetrator, who is now serving as the adjutant of Brigadier General Bill Marks. Determined to prove his innocence, Tom pleads for justice and the truth to come to light, hoping that the local authorities will unearth the real villain and punish them accordingly. Such a happening, he believes, would give him the opportunity to make an authoritative and genuine case for his innocence and exonerate himself of all doubts and suspicions that may be harbored. Only with such a vindication can he reclaim the dignity he deserves and continue to live his life with pride.
First Lieutenant Terence Embry is assigned to defend Tom, but his youth and lack of experience prompt Claire to decide to assist professionally in defending her husband. When she realizes that she needs help from someone familiar with the workings of a military court, she hires Charlie Grimes, an embittered former military attorney who has a grudge against the military brass. Three of the five key witnesses who previously testified Tom was guilty have died under seemingly mysterious circumstances, raising Claire and Charlie's suspicions. As the trial proceeds, they reveal a massive cover-up perpetrated by one of the military's highest-ranking officials. Confusion is furthered by the sudden appearance of a resident of the village where the mass murder took place, who insists Tom was responsible; Embry's romantic involvement with Claire's irresponsible sister Jackie; Embry's drinking in a bar with the prosecutor, which leads Claire to assume that he leaked details about secrets she has uncovered to the prosecution; and Charlie's falling off the wagon after more than a year of sobriety.
The Salvadorian witness identifies an injured Hernandez as the culprit responsible for a bombing incident prior to the massacre. Claire recovers classified medical files from the FBI as evidence of the cover-up. Claire blackmails Marks by threatening to reveal what she knows about the cover-up and asks him to make the case go away; the next day, the U.S. Defense Department has the case thrown out of court due to "national security reasons".
Just as Claire is about to celebrate her victory in court, Charlie realises the truth. A witness described the soldier who murdered her family as having tossed his gun from one hand to the other, shooting his gun first using one hand, then the other (revealing his ambidexterity). The habit Tom displays throughout the film with keys and other objects, tossed from and to or used with both hands, falls into focus and he knows that Tom committed the massacre, as well as having murdered the other key witnesses, years prior to his arrest. When Tom overhears Claire talking to Charlie on the phone, a short brawl ensues, during which Claire fears for her life. The Salvadorian witness fatally shoots Tom through the window, and the film ends with Charlie and Claire partnering a new law firm.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 31% of 133 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman make this predictable affair watchable." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
A.O. Scott of The New York Times thought Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman "make a muddled genre exercise seem a lot better than it is. Ms. Judd, always brisk and appealing, is capable of fine acting when the mood strikes [and] Mr. Freeman shows himself, once again, incapable of giving a bad performance." He added Carl Franklin's direction "is far from terrible, but it feels singularly uninspired, a flurry of fast, expository scenes and suspense-movie setups." He felt the plot twist "renders everything that came before completely nonsensical" and concluded, "If you figure it out, please let me know. On second thought, don't, but please drop a line to the folks at 20th Century Fox, since I'm sure they're just as baffled as the rest of us."
Hub AI
High Crimes AI simulator
(@High Crimes_simulator)
High Crimes
High Crimes is a 2002 American legal thriller film directed by Carl Franklin, based on a screenplay by Yuri Zeltser and Grace Cary Bickley that adapted Joseph Finder's 1998 novel. Starring Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman, the film follows defense attorney Claire Kubik (Judd) as she teams up with a seasoned military attorney (Freeman) to uncover a cover-up while defending her husband, Tom, who is charged with the murder of nine civilians in El Salvador and revealed to have been living under a false identity.
Attorney Claire Kubik and her woodworker husband Tom had led an idyllic life in Marin County, California. Whilst Christmas shopping in San Francisco's Union Square, Tom is suddenly arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and charged with the 1988 murders of nine unarmed civilians in a village in El Salvador. Claire is shocked to discover that Tom's real name is Ronald Chapman and that he had been in a covert military operation in his service of United States Marine Corps, and had been on the run for the past 12 years. Stunned, with her world shattering around her, she steels herself, determined to help Tom prove his innocence and prepared to take on what she may find out about him. She is determined to uncover the truth and save her husband from a life imprisonment.
Tom admits that he was at the scene of the mass murders but vehemently insists that he had absolutely no role in the gruesome killings. His protests allude to the fact that he has been implicated in the crime to act as a scapegoat and protect Major James Hernandez, the real perpetrator, who is now serving as the adjutant of Brigadier General Bill Marks. Determined to prove his innocence, Tom pleads for justice and the truth to come to light, hoping that the local authorities will unearth the real villain and punish them accordingly. Such a happening, he believes, would give him the opportunity to make an authoritative and genuine case for his innocence and exonerate himself of all doubts and suspicions that may be harbored. Only with such a vindication can he reclaim the dignity he deserves and continue to live his life with pride.
First Lieutenant Terence Embry is assigned to defend Tom, but his youth and lack of experience prompt Claire to decide to assist professionally in defending her husband. When she realizes that she needs help from someone familiar with the workings of a military court, she hires Charlie Grimes, an embittered former military attorney who has a grudge against the military brass. Three of the five key witnesses who previously testified Tom was guilty have died under seemingly mysterious circumstances, raising Claire and Charlie's suspicions. As the trial proceeds, they reveal a massive cover-up perpetrated by one of the military's highest-ranking officials. Confusion is furthered by the sudden appearance of a resident of the village where the mass murder took place, who insists Tom was responsible; Embry's romantic involvement with Claire's irresponsible sister Jackie; Embry's drinking in a bar with the prosecutor, which leads Claire to assume that he leaked details about secrets she has uncovered to the prosecution; and Charlie's falling off the wagon after more than a year of sobriety.
The Salvadorian witness identifies an injured Hernandez as the culprit responsible for a bombing incident prior to the massacre. Claire recovers classified medical files from the FBI as evidence of the cover-up. Claire blackmails Marks by threatening to reveal what she knows about the cover-up and asks him to make the case go away; the next day, the U.S. Defense Department has the case thrown out of court due to "national security reasons".
Just as Claire is about to celebrate her victory in court, Charlie realises the truth. A witness described the soldier who murdered her family as having tossed his gun from one hand to the other, shooting his gun first using one hand, then the other (revealing his ambidexterity). The habit Tom displays throughout the film with keys and other objects, tossed from and to or used with both hands, falls into focus and he knows that Tom committed the massacre, as well as having murdered the other key witnesses, years prior to his arrest. When Tom overhears Claire talking to Charlie on the phone, a short brawl ensues, during which Claire fears for her life. The Salvadorian witness fatally shoots Tom through the window, and the film ends with Charlie and Claire partnering a new law firm.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 31% of 133 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman make this predictable affair watchable." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
A.O. Scott of The New York Times thought Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman "make a muddled genre exercise seem a lot better than it is. Ms. Judd, always brisk and appealing, is capable of fine acting when the mood strikes [and] Mr. Freeman shows himself, once again, incapable of giving a bad performance." He added Carl Franklin's direction "is far from terrible, but it feels singularly uninspired, a flurry of fast, expository scenes and suspense-movie setups." He felt the plot twist "renders everything that came before completely nonsensical" and concluded, "If you figure it out, please let me know. On second thought, don't, but please drop a line to the folks at 20th Century Fox, since I'm sure they're just as baffled as the rest of us."