90s Movie Review - Double Jeopardy

Director: Bruce Beresford
Genre: Drama/ Crime/ Thriller
Runtime: 105 minutes
Year: 1999
Starring: Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones, Bruce Greenwood, Annabeth Gish, Bruce Campbell

Description: Libby (Ashley Judd) is framed for her husband’s murder, but suspects he (Bruce Greenwood) is still alive. As she has already been tried for the crime, she can’t be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.

Review: Libby Parsons is crazy about sailing and gets a sailboat from her husband Nick, which they go out on together. One day on the boat, Libby wakes up in the middle of the night covered in blood and Nick is nowhere to be found. Libby is accused of murdering her husband and she is sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Before she is locked up in jail, she asks her best friend Angela to adopt her young son Matty. Angela agrees and she promises to visit Libby regularly. However, Angela only shows up once and Libby never hears from her again. From prison, Libby finds out that Angela has moved to San Francisco and she manages to reach her on the phone. Libby also manages to talk to Matty and during that conversation she finds out that Nick is still alive. She can’t do anything because of being locked up. Her friends in prison encourage her and she learns that once she is released, she can kill her husband without mercy because she cannot be convicted of the same crime a second time. It's called a double jeopardy.
After six years, Libby is released and must behave impeccably for the next three years, without breaking her parole, or else she can be sent back to prison. She reports to her probation officer Travis Lehman, who warns her once again to behave properly. But Libby has just one goal in mind: to find her son at all costs.
“Double Jeopardy” has many similarities to such films as “The Fugitive” and “US Marshalls” in which Tommy Lee Jones likewise takes up the pursuit of a criminal who later turns out to be innocent. Although Jones’ role is not as weighty as in the aforementioned films, he plays the role of Travis convincingly. The same can be said by Ashley Judd. I have always liked her as an actress.
“Double Jeopardy” is an all-round enjoyable crime thriller. The fact is that the story itself is not new. The film is very similar to other films in the genre. But despite this fact, the film remains captivating from beginning to end, partly due to good acting. I enjoyed it.

Rating: 3,5/ 5

Netflix Friday - Volume 72

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Batman Begins (2005)
After training with his mentor (Liam Neeson), Batman (Christian Bale) begins his fight to free crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption.
 

Drama: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the eight-year-old son of the commandant (David Thewlis) at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
 

Comedy: Ted 2 (2015)
Newlywed couple Ted (Seth MacFarlane) and Tami-Lynn want to have a baby, but in order to qualify to be a parent, Ted will have to prove he’s a person in a court of law.
 

Animation: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
 

Romance: He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)
This Baltimore-set movie of interconnecting story arcs deals with the challenges of reading or misreading human behavior.
 

Horror: Dead of Night (1945)
Architect Walter Craig (Mervyn Johns) senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales.
 

Science Fiction: Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Fearing that the actions of Superman (Henry Cavill) are left unchecked, Batman (Ben Affleck) takes on the Man of Steel, while the world wrestles with what kind of a hero it really needs.
 

Crime: Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster (Robert De Niro) returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan over thirty years later, where he once again must confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
 

Thriller: Double Jeopardy (1999)
A woman (Ashley Judd) framed for her husband’s (Bruce Greenwood) murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can’t be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
 

Documentary: Untold: Crime and Penalties (2021)
They were the bad boys of hockey – a team bought by a man with mob ties, run by his 17-year-old son, and with a rep for being as violent as they were good the story of the Danbury Trashers.
 

Family: Paddington (2014)
A young Peruvian bear (Ben Wishaw) travels to London in search for a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.