Movies that know how to mix the dangerous and the erotic often make edgy, highly diverting thrillers, but “Judicial Consent” is too obvious and too conscious of its form.A prolific character actor whose trademark was villainous egotists and endearing curmudgeons, Dabney Coleman was a recognizable film star during the 1980s, though he was ever-present on television throughout the entirety of his five-decade career. As Martin, gifted character actor Coleman is wasted in an unrewarding role, while Wirth is there mostly to look good as the stranger with a “mysterious” motive. Will Patton, usually brilliant in small, offbeat roles, is miscast here in the underwritten role of Gwen’s bland husband we never get a sense of the kind of marriage the Warwicks have. For instance, lawyers, particularly women, might find offensive a sex scene in Gwen’s office in which she’s shown reaching orgasm while negotiating an important assignment on the telephone.
Dark lofts, swinging doors, empty parking lots and so on are all nicely handled, but they’re also familiar to an audience that always seems to be ahead of the pic’s characters.īedelia gives a charming, dominating performance, but the woman she plays is too intelligent and too bright to behave in such a senseless manner.
Though a first-time helmer, Bindley gives his picture a smooth and polished look, displaying some mastery over the genre’s tricks - and visual cliches. The courtroom format relies heavily on finely tuned dialogue and unanticipated revelations, but Bindley’s writing, specifically in the court sequences, is borderline banal and the disclosures aren’t particularly suspenseful.
Realizing she’s been set up, Gwen begins a desperate race against time to prove her innocence. Soon, what seemed “circumstantial” evidence turns out to be a well-planned murder, with Gwen as the prime suspect.
When Gwen’s roguish colleague, Charles Matron (Dabney Coleman), “a chronic flirt,” is found dead in his office, she’s asked to preside over the case.
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