"High Crimes" is a thoroughly boring and uninspiring film. Despite the strong performances of Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman this film still feels lifeless.
The first 20 minutes of the movie consist of boring and somewhat arbitrary snippets of scenes that are supposed to establish character and develop relationships, but instead almost lulled me to sleep. The first 20 minutes of the film could have easily been condensed to about five, and I kept wondering if the filmmakers had access to any editing equipment.
The plot doesn't pick up until Tom Kubik (James Cavaziel) and his wife Claire (Ashley Judd) are accosted by federal agents while returning from a Christmas shopping trip. Claire later finds out that her husband has been arrested by the military for supposedly leading a massacre in an El Salvador village about 10 years ago. Tom soon will be tried in a secret (and corrupt) military court and face a possible death penalty if he is found guilty.
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Claire is obviously upset and asks Tom if this is true. He responds by dropping the bombshell - that his name is actually Ronald Chapman. Despite the startling revelation that her husband suspiciously changed his name and lived in hiding for years to avoid the military, Claire believes her husband's story that he was framed by the high ranking General Marks (Bruce Davison).
To make matters worse, Tom/Ronald is stuck with young and hapless Lt. Embry (Adam Scott) as his lawyer. Thankfully, Claire is also a lawyer and immediately names herself head defense attorney. The only problem is that military courts are different from public courts, and so Claire enlists the help of self-proclaimed "wild card" and ex-military lawyer, Charley Grimes (Morgan Freeman).
The stage is now set for some scintillating courtroom drama. Unfortunately not much actually develops and most of the courtroom scenes fizzle.
The scenes outside the courtroom aren't that involving either and most revolve around the military's attempts to intimidate Claire and her flighty sister Jackie (Amanda Peet). Some of the military's tactics border on absurd and most others are highly benign, such as receiving a discouraging word from some random guy in a grocery store.
There are a few good moments in this movie - including the flashbacks of the massacre - and some funny lines from Freeman. However, for the most part you can see everything coming from a mile away. Especially the plot twists.
One such twist occurs when Tom passes a polygraph test, and Claire is thrilled that he has exonerated himself. Then the shocking twist comes. Claire later learns that people can beat polygraph testing. Yeah, I knew that. You would think that at some point in law school, there might have been a little section in a book that explained polygraph testing and why it is inadmissible in court. Maybe Claire skipped that section, or maybe she was just so in love with Tom or Ronald or whatever his real name is that she could overlook it.
Then there is James Cavaziel, who is simply painful to watch as Tom. If you have seen his performance in "Angel Eyes" then you know what I'm talking about. He doesn't say much and instead just tends to gaze into the camera with those beautiful eyes of his and occasionally let a lone tear gently slide down his cheek. One starts to wonder if he can play anything except a weird guy who doesn't like to say much and would rather stare directly at the camera.
Despite the predictability of the film and some boring supporting actors, Judd and Freeman try to salvage something and give strong performances nonetheless.
The most enjoyable aspect of the movie is watching Freeman play a dirty, unkempt drunk who speeds around on a Harley motorcycle. I'm used to seeing him as the polished detective with an inscrutable character. It's amusing to watch him stumble his way through the movie with clip-on ties and a frizzy afro-like do. However, despite his best attempts, "High Crimes" falls far short of engaging and only borders on enjoyable at a few less than memorable points. Save it for a rental, even then, it wouldn't be a crime to skip this one.
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