The Guilty (2000)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Good concept, poorly executed.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Callum Crane, a powerful lawyer, is seen in his summation on a case being tried for defamation of character. He has even orchestrated the right moment in which a ray of sun will shine on the defendant's face to dramatize the occasion, while fumbling on a Shakespeare quote. He is too theatrical to lose the case. His own take on the two million dollars awarded the offended party is probably half of it. Crane believes he can have Sophie Lennon, an attractive young woman who works in his office, just after he had been toasted by the partners. It was the wrong move because Sophie did not have any intentions to have sex with the powerful head of the lawyers' firm. Callum has no idea the humiliation he provokes in the young woman he decided to rape against her wish. Nathan Corrigan just recently out of jail for a car theft, returns to town hoping to go straight. His pals have another thing in mind. He receives a blow when he learns Callum is his father. Going to meet him, he runs into Sophie, with whom he likes from the start. Callum, who is not aware of the relationship, sees in the young man a powerful ally for what he wants to do when Sophie becomes his bitter enemy. Nathan becomes the instrument of Callum's wish to get Sophie out of the picture, something that backfires."The Guilty" a 2001 film directed by Anthony Waller is a film that seems to have gone to video, or did not get a commercial distribution. Written by Simon Burke for a television movie, it was adapted by William Davies for this new production shot entirely around Vancouver. The film has good moments, but the plot does not hold its momentum because its so many twists and turns. There are too many things that do not completely make sense, especially between Callum and Nathan, or for that matter, the nomination of Callum to a Supreme Court seat (state, that is, not federal) is too much to be believed, when as a star lawyer, Crane can name his price for any case he would decide to take.There are other plot holes that leave the viewer scratching his head, but one gives it the benefit of the doubt. There are other aspects that work. The sinister character of Callum is one of the creepiest characters Bill Pullman, a good actor, has been asked to bring to life. Gabrielle Anwar shows up as Sophie, the violated young woman who vows revenge on the powerful Callum. Davon Sawa appears as Nathan. The wonderful Joanne Whalley has nothing to do as the two-timing wife of Callum.

I love a good courtroom yarn. A Few Good Men and A Time to Kill rank high on my list. But…The Guilty…is just that…and of many things.Sadly, the movie suffers from overkill and the very thing I look for in movies: a spider-web of integral plot twists. Only, The Guilty has, oh, I dunno, 56 different story lines. Too bad.It also made me have less faith in the already-mediocre Bill Pullman's acting. He was just plain awful. And poor Devon Sawa and Gabrielle Anwar – both of whom I loved early in their careers. They both should've gone places…but alas, didn't.To be honest, I saw this move a week or so ago, and it's already drifting in my mind. What I remember is that it starts off simple enough, but then quickly dives into multiple plot twists so convoluted that it's almost hard to keep up. Okay, not that hard, but it's so basic in its twists and turns that it feels so incredibly amateur, it seems like it was made by film students. Not good.Bad Boy Nathan (Devon Sawa) is released from prison, but continues to break the law – even though he feels "it's not his fault." Bad Man Callum (Bill Pullman) rapes an employee of his, Sophie (Gabrielle Anwar.) His wife's cheating, he's cheating. Nathan is trying to start over, but continues down a bad path with his deviant friends. And Callum's trying to be a Federal Judge even though he's as corrupt as the world views any given lawyers. In other words, the main leads aren't good people, so get ready to root for…no one.Mix everyone together in a blender with every conceivable cliché and you have this movie. John Grisham would even ask: WTF? Every "surprise" is easily seen, every corner forewarned. Only the very last twist in the over-longed film (108 minutes that should've been 78) is enjoyable, but, believe me, it's a chore to get there.It's good for the mildly curious, or fans of the staff involved. It's definitely a "leave-your-brain-at-the-door" feature. And a good exercise on what to avoid when you're attempting to make art out of the amateur filmmaker's vision.

Yes, it was a little bit unbelievable that the Judge's son would be the one he hired to kill the person he raped so that she won't blackmail him.It was awesome though and kept me interested the entire movie.It's a little gem - not a diamond by any means, but a gem - something like a copycat diamond. With enough sparkle to amuse and delight and please, but not something that is treasured for years to come.I enjoyed the story, the performances and the fact that my home was once again used in the film.I must have lived in the most awesome places on Earth, because they keep being used in movies.Anyways, it's a cool little crafty number that delighted me.

!!!! SPOILERS !!!!A hot shot lawyer called Callum Crane rapes Sophie his new secetary . Nathan Corrigan a newly paroled prisoner is released and tracks down his father . Just missing him at the law firm he literally bumps into Tanya who takes a fancy to him and invites him back to her flat where her flatmate is Sophie rape victim . Nathan eventually meets his father who is being black mailed . Nathan`s father doesn`t know Nathan is his son but hires him to kill the black mailer who is Sophie rape victim . Did I mention Nathan`s dad is Callum Crane ? Man I could be here all night explaining all the intricate plot twists and the quite ridiculous coincidences involving this thriller . But I won`t put the boot into it since it might give the impression that I detested THE GUILTY . I didn`t detest it . It`s a rather enjoyable thriller but I can`t ignore the fact that there`s far too much coincidence involved . For example character A always happens to be walking down the right street so they can bump into character B which pushes the plot along , or character C will fail to open an envelope that would have saved character D`s life , and you can`t help noticing the blatent plot hole that Sophie wouldn`t be able to make the rape allegation stick since there`s no forensic evidence after several days and that she has a motive for blackening Crane`s name . The script - Via Crane - actually points this out It`s this clumsy writing that stops THE GUILTY from being far more highly regarded . I notice that the IMDB voters have given it an average in the region of 6.3 and this is probably the correct score . If you`re the sort of person who endlessly anylizes movies you`ll find much to criticise but you`ll probably still be entertained . If there`s nothing on television and you`re just looking for a thriller to pass a couple of hours before you go to bed I can certainly recommend THE GUILTY